Denominational Resources

Catholic Relief Services Best Photographs 2018

This photo is part of CRS' best photos of 2018, it's the tsunami in Indonesia.

Picture courtesy of crs.org; Photographer Mohammed Hafiz

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has created the “Through the Lens of Our Photographers,” project. This is its third year of the CRS Photos Department’s annual collection of the best photos of the year. CRS Photo Librarian Lauren Carroll and Photo Editor Philip Laubner hope to offer photos that have a “lasting impact and transcend their parts to represent something bigger, something universal, something that talks to a larger human truth.” To view all of the photographs from 2018, click here.

 

Build a Catholic Relief Services Ark of Hope

CRS: Catholic Relief Services

Picture courtesy of crs.org

“Remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature—every mortal being that is on Earth.” – Genesis 9:16

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) created Ark of Hope as a way to get communities engaged in a fun and creative way. Relating to the hope and promise from the story of Noah’s Ark, the CRS Ark of Hope program allows communities to donate symbolic animals to people in need as they “build an ark.” As communities work towards their goal, they can color in animals and place them on an arc. The materials included with this program are lesson plans, a prayer service, coloring pages, and a bulletin-board Ark to show the progress communities are making towards reaching their goals and building their ark. To read more or begin an Ark of Hope, click here.

Sisters of Earth: Hopes and Dreams

Picture courtesy of globalsistersreport.org

How to Face the Mess We’re in without Going Crazy, is the subtitle of Joanna Macy’s book Active Hope, which was the inspiration for Sisters of Earth gathering that took place July 12-15 at Mount Saint Joseph, home of the Sisters of Charity in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati was chosen as the location partly because of the ancestral inspiration of Sister of Charity Paula Gonzalez, who promoted solar power and sustainability projects and teachings throughout the Catholic world. This year, nearly 100 women from the United States and Canada began by remembering Sister Paula and discussing questions like: Who are we? Where are we? How did we get here and what is possible? And — where do we go from here? To read more on the Sisters of Earth and the Cincinnati gathering, click here.

Pennsylvania order asks Supreme Court to uphold its Religious Rights

Picture courtesy of globalsistersreport.org

The Adorers of the Blood of Christ have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether their religious freedom rights were violated by the construction and pending use of a natural gas pipeline through its land. The petition asks the Supreme Court to determine how extensively the government must respect claims under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and whether the construction violates their religious freedoms under the RFRA. To read more on the Adorers of the Blood of Christ and their petition, click here.

The Giving Tree: Fighting Climate Change and Strengthening Communities in Nicaragua

Picture courtesy of crs.org

The Giving Tree: Fighting Climate Change and Strengthening Communities in Nicaragua is an initiative from Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere with one of the worst rates of deforestation in the region. CRS is engaging rural Nicaraguans, who have an average employment income of $3/day, in planting 310,000 indigenous trees in land on or near their small farms. These trees will remove from the atmosphere approximately 67,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, over their full lives. Farmers will be paid annually for a 10-year period to maintain and nurture these trees, and additional investment will be made in the communities.To read more on The Giving Tree and the work that CRS is doing, click here.

Creation at the Crossroads

Picture courtesy of renewintl.org/

Creation at the Crossroads is a collaboration between RENEW International, GreenFaith, and Catholic Climate Covenant. They aim to share faith related resources for small-groups that respond to Pope Francis’ call to action in his encyclical Laudato Si’. To read more on Creation at the Crossroads, click here.

10 Things in Your Home Linked to Climate Change

Picture courtesy of crs.org

10 Things in Your Home Linked to Climate Change is a resource from Catholic Relief Services on simple ways your house could be contributing to climate change. The resource offers facts on 10 simple things, such as fish and coffee, that can have major impacts on the environment. To read more about 10 Things in Your Home Linked to Climate Change, click here.

A Month of Gratitude

A Month of Gratitude

Image courtesy of creationcare.org

A Month of Gratitude is a way that Christine Sine, creator of Godspace and writer for EEN Moms, is focusing on God’s abundant blessings. Instead of just making the week of Thanksgiving a gratitude week, she has decided to make October and November a season of gratitude. She offers simple ways that anyone can join her by praying, focusing, and practicing. To read more about how you can join her in this season of gratitude, click here.

Your Vote. Our Voices. Speak Up for Our Future, Get Out and Vote!

American electorate graphic

Picture courtesy of unitedmethodistwomen.org

United Methodist Women wants to encourage everyone, especially women, to get out and vote.

“Your vote has the power to move us closer to creating a world in which justice rolls down like water and righteousness as a mighty stream. So, get out and vote! You have the power to pull a lever to change the conversation about our national priorities. You have the power to organize a car pool to take the homebound to their polling stations. You have the power to use the United Methodist Women Election Checklist to find out which candidates support our vision of a nation with clean air, with maternal and child well-being; a nation where workers earn a living wage and a nation where we offer educational opportunity rather than juvenile detention.”

To read more on the importance of voting, click here.

God’s Good Creation Vacation Bible School

Picture courtesy of elca.org

God’s Good Creation is a vacation bible school (VBS) resource from Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The VBS focuses on teaching children about hunger, hope, and the work to which God calls on us to aid in ending hunger for good. There are five days that each contain learning activities with different themes. To read more or download God’s Good Creation, click here.