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Green Education and Advocacy

Green Education and Advocacy

Environmental Justice Concerns

Together, we can grow the Creation Care movement to bring people closer to nature and Jesus by taking action to protect our beautiful state. Teach sustainability, conservation and bio-diversity to youth and children - they love it! All ages can participate in actionable advocacy - from writing letters, digging in the soil, planting trees, walking nature paths, cleaning up waterways... the list of engaging ideas is endless. The world, and Florida, needs Creation Care now more than ever.

Connect with Your Community

  • Start a Facebook Group other social media
  • Creation Care Webinars
  • Eat, Pray, Grow Monthly Eco Inspiration Zoom Gatherings on the fourth Tuesdays of every month.
  • Discover other local Green organizations 
  • Start a Creation Care Meetup group or join Nextdoor type local apps
  • Host a "Blessing of the Animals" service - invite the community

 

Connect with your Church

Hosting Virtual Green Church Events

More info to come.

​Hold an Earth Day Sunday or Creation Care Celebration 

The Bible is full of beautiful language and theology for celebrating God's creation. Yet sometimes, in the rhythm of the liturgical year, it can be challenging to find a specific time to focus as a church community on the theme of creation. Earth Day Sunday provides just such an opportunity.

Since 1970, communities have taken one day each year to be especially mindful of the Earth and its many gifts: April 22, Earth Day. This day has ecumenical and bipartisan roots. Each year, thousands of congregations set aside a day to pray, learn, and take action on a Sunday close to Earth Day.

EARTH DAY SUNDAY 2021 Theme is "A New Heaven and a New Earth". This year's timely theme focuses on Health, Environmental Racism, & Eco-Justice. The resource is almost ready to download. Sign up HERE to receive the resource link as soon as it is available to download.

Our Christian education and action resources will feature stories of congregations taking climate action, liturgical resources, and faith-rooted interpretation of recently released dire Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. The resource will be available for download at UMC Creation Justice Ministries subpage: www.earthdaysunday.org. You can also find previous Earth Day Sunday resources on the site.

Join Local National Arbor Day Observances   

Many local cities, towns and municipalities have National Arbor Day observances. National Arbor Day encourages people to plant trees, and many communities (even HOA's) organize tree-planting and litter-collecting events. A popular Arbor Day tradition is to plant a tree in honor of, or memory of, a loved one. In 2021, National Arbor Day is April 30. 

Check with your local municipality to see if your church Creation Care ministry can get involved. If your town doesn't currently have a National Arbor Day observance... why not start one? 

Florida Creation Care Advocacy - Get Involved!

Join the FL UMC Creation Care Task Force Team

As leaders, we will: Communicate the good news of our successes, and be honest in our challenges, to inspire others. Here's what we do:  

  • Create tools to help new groups get started.
  • Join a team to assist with webinars, website resources, trainings.
  • Connect and support other churches in our areas to get involved.
  • Be on the lookout for opportunities to collaborate locally and district-wide.
  • Share eco-campaigns that we can support. 
  • Join monthly Zoom Team briefings to grow as creation care leaders. 

Help us, help others: Send your stories to Cara Fleischer for FLUMC communication and social media, post on FB group, etc.

Partnerships (UMW, GM, etc. see current site)

FL Farms and Farmers More info to come. 

UMC Creation Justice Ministries: Educational Resources for all ages at: ​https://www.creationjustice.org/educational-resources.html  Creation Justice Ministries has "52 Ways to Care for Creation"… English and Spanish, Bulletin Inserts for EVERY MONTH. And a TON of other resources focused on Environmental Health, Climate and Energy, Educational Earth Day Sunday programs – yearly, going back to 2004, and Land and Water Stewardship Resources. 

Ecumenical Groups:

Sunshine State Interfaith Power & Light (IPL). This religious response to climate change promotes energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. the goal of this program is to foster environmental justice by protecting the earth’s ecosystem and enhancing public health and welfare for current and future generations through education, action and advocacy. Main Florida Contact: Rev. Andy Bell, 5995 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Street South, Saint Petersburg, FL 33705, phone: 727-698-0624 or email us at: info@sunshinestateipl.org

We are very fortunate that a clergy member of the Florida Conference, the Rev. Andy Bell, is the Director of the Sunshine State Interfaith Power & Light, which is affiliated with the national Interfaith Power & Light.  This is an interfaith organization which works with people of all faiths to strengthen their education and advocacy for care of God's creation. 

For the love of the children, all children of all living beings, it is past time to make sweeping, positive changes. These powerful, positive changes may feel darned inconvenient but that is because we have become tragically dependent on lifestyles that require the constant burning of vast quantities of carbon based fuels, globally. If we don't take the threats Mayer Hillman describes seriously, it is tantamount to looking into our children and grandchildren's faces and saying, "I don't care about your future." I for one care deeply. We can and must mitigate and adapt quickly. - Rev. Andy Bell, SSIPL Facebook post June 3, 2018

To find out more, check Sunshine State IPL Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SunshineStateIPL/

 

GreenFaith Alliance