Caretakers of God’s Creation
Project Information
Caring for God’s creation is integral to what it means to be disciples of Jesus Christ.
Describe the need affecting community
How will this Advance project help to address the need?
We are continuing to conduct trainings for local church “Green Teams.” We are helping churches “green” their churches and join together with other churches in their communities. In the Virginia conference alone we have over 100 churches that are partnering with us. We support our partners in all annual conferences to recognize churches that are providing leadership as Caretakers of God’s Creation in their work promoting Creation Care in Worship, Stewardship, Evangelism, Education, and Community Action. Our board members govern the work we do, all with the intent of enabling us to evaluate our environmental impact and make changes to lessen our churches’ impact on God’s Creation. To evaluate our programs we seek the review of other related groups in the Church and treasure their advice on how to more effectively incorporate care for God’s creation into the overall mission of the church.
Describe the primary goal of the project
To raise the awareness of Methodists as to the relationship between Christian discipleship and the care of God’s creation. And then to proved various tools by which our churches and organizations can live out their faith, given that connection.
Describe the change you would like to see in the community as a result of this Advance project
I would like to see a change in our theological understanding and a change in how we collectively live in relationship with each other and with God’s creation. I want to see a larger commitment upon the part of the nations of the world. To ramp up their ambitions that they agreed upon in Paris at the climate change talks there. I want to see the church leading the way in a commitment to care for God’s creation.