Creation Spirituality

Permaculture Extension Initiative

St. John's residence design

Picture courtesy of ecofaithrecovery.org

Permaculture Extension Initiative is a project from EcoFaith Recovery. The project is meant to build ecological and biblical literacy in faith communities while engaging in practical and transformative projects. The pilot project offers faith communities the opportunity to engage in: weekend workshops on the themes of permaculture, gardening, or watershed discipleship and biblical ecology; design and implement a food-bearing, pollinator friendly, or native habitat landscape and garden; permaculture/eco-biblical literacy mentoring of interns as opportunities present themselves. To read more on the Permaculture Extension Initiative, 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.

Beyond the Steeple: New Life in Texas

Picture courtesy of
elca.org/

Beyond the Steeple: New Life in Texas is a video on New Life Lutheran Church in Dripping Springs, Texas. Every Sunday, rain or shine, they hold their worship outdoors under the live oaks on their property. The short video shows an average Sunday at the church and also talks to members about their experience attending a church with no building. Pastor Kara Stewart stated, “I love that in order to come to worship I need to know what’s going on in the world, like the actual creation world not just world events; that we pay attention to what the land will be experiencing when we’re here.” To watch the video on New Life Lutheran Church, click here.

EcoFaith Recovery

EcoFaith Recovery

Picture courtesy of ecofaithrecovery.org

EcoFaith Recovery is a faith-based leadership development effort in the Pacific Northwest. Their purpose is to revitalize congregational ministries to participate in the healing of creation. They envision themselves as the tree of life, rooted and growing at the junction of ecology, faith, and recovery. They hope to create and network small groups and learning communities that can discover new and sustainable ways of being, to engage, mentor, and nurture one another in spiritual, economic, and community leadership, and to build and re-build powerful institutions that can employ the resources of Christianity, creation, cosmos, and community toward the work of healing. To read more on EcoFaith Recovery click here.

Spiritual Wholeness and Climate Justice

The United Methodist Women logo taken from http://www.unitedmethodistwomen.org

Spiritual Wholeness and Climate Justice is an article from the United Methodist Women. They believe that, “Part of being whole persons in Jesus Christ includes a just relationship with earth and all its communities.” The article goes on to talk about taking action, living with purpose, and how to “Be Just. Be Green.” To read the entire article, click here.

How Do We Declare Creation ‘Very Good’ in the Face of Climate Change?

Photo by Thomas Hafeneth on Unsplash

Picture courtesy of sojo.net

How Do We Declare Creation ‘Very Good’ in the Face of Climate Change? is an article from Sojourners magazine written by Neddy Astudillo. The article discusses how the impending reality of climate change challenges the understanding of creation as ‘good’. Astudillo states, “We must live in the present but with our hearts fixed on the future. Not just the future that awaits us in heaven, but the one concerned with this Earth. We must believe in personal change, the kind of change that comes from the heart and can withstand difficulties. We know the importance of sacrifice for the common good. These values are the missing link to reducing emissions and sinking carbon back into living soils, through lifestyles that care for the Earth and her most vulnerable creatures.” To read more, click here.

What Trees Tell Us about Life, Death, and Resurrection

What Trees Teach Us about Life, Death, and Resurrection

Picture courtesy of christianitytoday.com

What Trees Tell Us about Life, Death, and Resurrection is an article from Christianity Today that was written by Matthew Sleeth. The article discusses how often trees are mentioned in the Bible and the frequent association between trees and major characters and events in the Bible; other than God and people trees are the most mentioned living thing in the Bible. The article goes on to discuss the tree of life and the relationship between trees and death. To read the entire article on What Trees Tell Us about Life, Death, and Resurrection, click here.

Activities on Spirituality of Creation

Picture courtesy of greenchurches.ca

Activities on Spirituality of Creation is a faith education activity from Green Churches Network. They believe that the continuity of the Church depends on preaching the gospel and the continuity of the biodiversity on the planet will require our appreciation and care for creation. They offer two different activities: one about the seven days of creation and another focused on seeking the Kingdom of God. To read or download these activities, click here.

Songs about God’s Creation

Picture courtesy of greenchurches.ca

Green Churches Network offers songs and hymns to follow the biblical tradition to sing praise to God for creation. The songs come from various Christian traditions, and they accept suggestions for other songs to add. To listen to all of the creation songs and hymns offered, click here.