March 2021
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Lenten Journeys
We enter March in the midst of Lent. While Lent is often a time to sit with the brokenness of the world, it can also be (and perhaps especially this year needs to be) a time to prepare for Easter. We celebrate longer days, warmer temperatures, and signs of new life in the natural world. We can also celebrate and nurture new possibilities for Creation Justice. What are you doing to prepare for resurrection in your life and in the world? What visions are you daydreaming for how we might better live in harmony with each other and with God's Good Creation? What new information or skills do you need to be more effective at engaging others in your congregations and communities at the work of healing, reconciliation and regeneration? How are you preparing for Easter?
The growing UM Creation Justice Movement has an abundance of opportunities listed below to equip, support and inspire you in that transformational work during this Lenten Season and beyond. We welcome you to join us!
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Training Opportunities
 Global Ministries EarthKeepers Online returns May 7-22, 2021. SAVE THE DATES!
Global Ministries seeks U.S.-based United Methodists to lead grassroots environmental projects that are action-oriented, anti-racist, bold and entrepreneurial. Global Ministries EarthKeepers is a training program that equips US-based United Methodists to launch and grow environmental projects in their communities. Topics include eco-theology, anti-racism, community organizing, and project planning. All participants plan a project during the training. More Details and Application Information Here.
This will be the second online Global Ministries EarthKeepers training and the 11th training since the program began in 2016. Participation is limited to people who are actively involved in United Methodist churches in the United States. Application Closes: April 12, 2021 or when spaces are filled.
Just Energy for All 101 3-part webinar series on March 8 and March 22, 2021 at 3 pm ET. Learn more about the why and what of United Methodist Women's Just Energy for All campaign, as well as how your United Methodist Women unit, district or conference can be involved. These 90-minute webinars will include presentations, breakout sessions, and opportunities to connect with other UMW members and people of faith. You don’t need to be a United Methodist Women member to join us—all are welcome! Register here. The webinars will be recorded and posted to the website.
Just Energy for All Monthly Strategy and Capacity Building Sessions: Join United Methodist Women every 3rd Wednesday of the month at 3 pm ET to learn from and connect with other United Methodist Women and people of faith working to advance just energy for all at the local, state, and national levels. These monthly 90-minute sessions are intended to provide an opportunity to network, share best practices, and support you in your work of advancing just energy for all at the local, state and national levels. The format will vary from month to month and may include various speakers, capacity-building, peer-coaching, breakout groups by themes/region and updates from the National Office. You don’t need to be a United Methodist Women member to join us—all are welcome! Register here.
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Upcoming Events
 Climate Justice on Sacred Ground - The Role of Church Lands in Resilience and Adaptation: Thursday, March 25, 6-7 pm ET Register Here The climate crisis has arrived. Faith communities must not only react, but also prepare. Whether a church community has a large facility, land, social capital, or something else, those assets can be channeled into building climate resilience in preparation for the coming physical and spiritual storms of the climate crisis. Previous webinars from this series and other resiliency resources available at www.creationjustice.org/resilience.
Imagine! God's Earth and People Restored - Ecumenical Advocacy Days: April 18-21, 2021. Ecumenical Advocacy Days is an annual gathering of Christian advocates and activists. We worship, delve deeply into the pressing issues of the day, and lift our voices by speaking truth to power on Capitol Hill. EAD 2021 is an opportunity to support this global movement centered on and led by the people and communities most vulnerable to climate impacts due to historic racial and colonial inequities. Together, we will passionately advocate and reimagine a world that lives out the values of justice, equity and the beloved community. EAD 2021 will be a virtual gathering, to be held April 18-21, 2021. Registration details will be announced soon. In the meantime, more details can be found here.
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Lenten and Worship Resources
For the Beauty of the Earth: A Lenten Devotional: Drawing on the beloved hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth,” each week of this 40-day Lenten devotional by Leah D. Schade focuses on a different aspect of the splendor of nature, how God nurtures our spirit through creation, and how we must protect our precious home. As we walk with Jesus along shorelines, through gardens, and among trees, we learn from the “birds of the air” and “the lilies of the field.” When our Lenten journey takes us into the heart of Earth itself at Jesus’ tomb, we anticipate the resurrection with eager longing and active hope. Each five-minute devotional includes a scripture, reflection, and prayer.
Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing: Lenten Devotional by Gayle Boss paracletepress.com/products/wild-hope. Pangolins and polar bears, olms, lemurs, and leopards. We share this beautiful blue-green globe with creatures magnificent, delicate, intricate—and now vanishing at a faster rate than at any other time in Earth’s history. Spend Lent with twenty-five of these wild ones. "The promise of Lent is that something new will rise. In fact, as these stories also attest, our hope, though wild, is not impossible and is already loose in the world."
ResiLENT Worship: Preaching Our Way to Climate Resilience: This webinar held by Creation Justice Ministries of the Council of Churches explores how the church might become a hub of resilience in the midst of the spiritual and physical storms of the climate crisis. Full recording of the Workshop held on Feb 18th.
Earth Day Materials from Global Ministries: Pastors: Need a post-Easter preaching break? Global Ministries is offering Earth Day Sunday worship resources for use in April, including video recordings of scripture reading, litany, and a sermon from Rev. Jenny Phillips on Luke 24:36b-48. Materials will be available at this link later in March.
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Creation Justice
Resources and Opportunities
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Faithful Advocacy Webinar Series: If you missed the Jan 14th or Feb 25th webinars from the State and Federal Advocacy Teams you can view the recordings and links to additional resources HERE and HERE. The first webinar offered a foundation for taking action at all levels of government emphasizing the importance of telling your story and building a network of grassroots advocates in every state. The second covered information on climate policy action already taken or planned by the Biden Administration and prospects for Congressional action and what shape that might take, as well as opportunities to engage on an ongoing basis with the public policy advocacy efforts of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement.
Just Energy for All Funding Opportunity: United Methodist Women's Office of Economic and Environmental Justice invites UMW groups to apply for funding to help support local organizing campaigns to advance just energy for all. Funding is available for work happening at the circle, unit, district, conference or jurisdiction level. United Methodist Women groups are strongly encouraged to apply for funding to support work that is happening collaboratively, in coalition/partnership with other organizations or groups, so long as such work involves substantial participation from local United Methodist Women members. Learn more here and apply today!
Upcoming UMW Federal Legislative Days: United Methodist Women and the National Religious Partnership for the Environment are organizing virtual visits to Capitol Hill to urge Congress to make climate justice a top priority. Sign up to receive updates from United Methodist Women about this and other opportunities to get involved in advancing climate justice and just energy for all.
God, Country, and Climate Change course: This spring Houghton College will be offering a FREE 8-week online course called "God, Country, and Climate Change: A Christian Perspective on a Global Problem." The course, which is taught by Climate Caretakers' founder Brian Webb, will feature guest lectures from top global experts including Katharine Hayhoe, Ed Maibach, Bob Inglis, John Cook, Jonathan Moo, Lowell Bliss, James Bhagwan, and more. The course runs March 17 - May 5 and will include topics such as creation care and climate theology, climate science and solutions, climate change in the American mind, and the context for global climate action. Visit www.houghton.edu/climate-course to learn more or to register for the free webinar.
Creation Justice Tips: The March Tips have been sent out and can be read here. The Tips are a simple-to-use resource for congregations and for sending to friends and family. The 10 Tips include both practical steps and theological understandings of who we are and how we are called to act. Pass the word!—Crys Zinkiewicz tips.creationjustice@gmail.com
Sample Creation Justice Tip for March: Through the waters of baptism, we are reminded of God’s renewing grace and gift of water that literally keeps us alive. Working to keep water safe, clean, and available to all is a sacred trust. On March 22, 2021, observe World Water Day (worldwaterday.org). For what you can do at home, visit watercalculator.org, or to learn more, browse “ocean conservation organizations.”
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The United Methodist Creation Justice Movement has several volunteer work teams that have been hard at work. The State and Federal Policy teams prepared and hosted two recent webinars in the Faithful Advocacy Series that attracted over 150 participants. The Engaging the Local Church team launched a 5 part series this past weekend that had nearly 80 people registered. The Organizing and Outreach team is reaching out to Creation Justice leaders in every US annual conference with a goal of identifying at least 2 Creation Justice contacts per conference. The Movement Coordinating Team is identifying priority projects for the coming year and clarifying our process for promoting federal policy. If you'd like to learn more about this work, please contact us at umcreationjustice@gmail.com.
Communication Team: This newsletter is coming to you from the Creation Justice Communications Team. If you have skills in website updates, list management, social media, writing, editing, design, marketing, podcasting, video conferencing, etc. we welcome you to join us. Contact umcreationjustice@gmail.com to learn more. We also encourage all of you to share this newsletter in your networks, and join ongoing conversations happening through the social media channels linked below.
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Join in These Creation Justice Conversations
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The UM Creation Justice Movement has a YouTube Channel. Visit it to find a collection of videos from recent webinars, past Creation Justice Summits, and more!
Join the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement Facebook Group. Share articles, resources, events, and read what others are sharing.
Join the Global Ministries Creation Care Network at creationcare.umcmission.org and invite a Friend.
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