Planning for Earth Month: Resources for Congregations

April is Earth Month, and for congregations, it can be a great time to further discern how to best answer our first calling as Christians: the caretaking of God’s creation. Form a plan for making the most of April. Check out this suggested activities:

1. Celebrate the Talent and Creativity of Our Children and Youth! From now until March 20th, children and youth can submit art work for our annual Climate Hope Art Contest. Our theme this year is “A Future with Hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). Register your congregation to participate. We will have winners for different age groups and an overall winner who will receive an all-expense paid trip to visit Washington, DC with a parent or guardian. Attend our Earth Summit on April 25th to see the art of the finalists and learn who the winners are.
2. Join the UCC Earth Day Summit Featuring the Rev. Dr. Kenneth Samuel! This online event will take place on Saturday, April 25th at a 1 PM ET/10 AM PT. Samuel is a renowned advocate and organizer for justice who serves as the pastor of Victory for the World Church in Decatur, Georgia. Among the other inspiring speakers at the summit will be Dr. Shalanda Baker, who headed the Office of Energy Justice and Equity at the Department of Energy under the Biden Administration. Register now!
3. Celebrate Creation Justice Sunday! Many churches celebrate God’s creation on the Sunday closest to Earth Day. For this occasion, the UCC partnered the ecumenical organization Creation Justice Ministries to produce a resource entitled “The Canopy of Creation: Trees, Faith, and the Work of Justice.” Download the resource now. Join us as well for a live webinar with the lead author of the resource, Derrick Weston. Register to join us March 18th at 1 pm ET or to receive a recording.
4. Use Earth Month as a Launching Pad! For those wondering what can be done to further climate justice under the current administration, Climate Hope Affiliates is a national chapter based program of the UCC and Creation Justice Ministries that has been engaged in successfully advocating with Congress this past year. Let us know if you are interested in starting an affiliate where you live or would like to organize an informational session for members of your church or community.

Bonus Suggestion for Earth Month

Have a BYOM (Bring Your Own Mug) Sunday! “Green” your coffee hour and shift away from disposable cups. You can support the climate justice ministries of the UCC by purchasing Climate Hope Mugs.