Eco-Resources

The following are resources for exploring environmental spirituality and care for God’s creation. Congregations and faith leaders, be sure to note the worship resources. This eco-resource list is one way we can continue the conversation and learning begun in the Unbound Nov 2012–Jan 2013 issue, “Hope for Eco-Activists: Discovering an Environmental Faith“. See also our Eco-Action list.

See all resources from…

• GreenFaith: Interfaith Partners for the Environment
• Interfaith Power and Light
• National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Programs
• Presbyterians for Earth Care
• Presbyterian Environmental Ministries

Worship Resources

• A Wee Worship Book: The Wild Goose worship group of the Iona Community.  Liturgies and prayers, many of which include creation-awareness, from the Celtic tradition.
• Advent daily calendar for caring for God’s creation 2012, from Presbyterian Environmental Ministries.
• Carolyn Winfrey Gillette’s earth-care hymns.
• Chris Iosso and Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty, Prayers for the New Social Awak­en­ing, “For the Earth and Her Crea­tures”. West­min­ster John Knox Press, 2008, p. 143.
• GreenFaith’s extensive worship resources
• Let All Creation Praise creation-care worship resources
• Elizabeth Roberts and Elais Amidon, Earth Prayers From Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring the Earth, ed. San Francisco: Harper Collins (0-06-250888-1).
• Prayers, poetry, and other worship resources from Interfaith Power and Light. See also their sample sermons.
• The Green Bible (HarperCollins, 2008).

Faith Statements

• Ecu­meni­cal Patri­arch Bartholomew, “Our Indi­vis­i­ble Envi­ron­ment,” Wall Street Jour­nal, Octo­ber 25, 2009.
• Episcopal Church resolution on climate change, passed at the General Convention, July 2012.
• Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice: A report adopted by the 202nd General Assembly (1990), with study guide.
• ————- Hope for a Global Future: Toward Just And Sustainable Human Development Approved by the 208th General Assembly (1996).
• ————- 2010 Recommendation on Uplifting the Call to Restore Creation.
• ————- PC(USA) Environment and Energy Policy Brief.
• ————- Hazardous Waste, Race, and the Environment (1995).
• ————- The Power to Change – U.S. Energy Policy and Global Warming (2008).
• U.S. Catholic Bish­ops, Renew­ing the Earth: An Invi­ta­tion to Reflec­tion and Action on the Envi­ron­ment in Light of Catholic Social Teach­ing (U.S. Catholic Con­fer­ence, 1992).

National and International Statements

• Principles of Environmental Justice: This statement, considered a vitally important “founding” document of the environmental justice movement, was drafted and adopted by delegates to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit held in 1991 in Washington, DC.
• Statement of Our Nation’s Moral Obligation to Address Climate Change, developed by the National Climate Ethics Campaign.

Recommended Blogs

• Eco-Justicia, blog of the Rev. Neddy Astudillo
• Eco-Justice Journey, blog of the Presbyterian Environmental Ministries
• NCC Eco-Justice Programs Blog
• To Inspire and Mobilize, Earth Ministry’s blog on faith and environment

Recommended Reading

• Find a list of eco-justice theological scholars here on the NCC Eco-Justice Programs website.
• Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, Green Deen: What Islam Teaches about Pro­tect­ing the Planet. San Fran­cisco: Berrett-Koehler Pub­li­ca­tions, 2010.
• And the Leaves of the Tree Are for the Healing of the Nations: This concise booklet explains biblical and theological foundations for cherishing God’s creation.
• Rebecca Barnes-Davies, 50 Ways to Help Save the Earth.
• Collin Beaven, No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009. See also the film, “No Impact Man” Oscilloscope Pictures, 2010.
• Peter G. Brown and Geoffrey Carver, Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy: uses the core Quaker principle of “right relationship”—interacting in a way that is respectful to all and that aids the common good—as the foundation for a new economic model.
• Robert D. Bullard, Dumping in Dixie, Race, Class, and Environmental Quality, Westview Press, Boulder CO, 1990.
• Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener, Claiming Earth as Common Ground: gathers insights from ecology coalitions, emerging theologies, and spiritual and environmental activists to rally and inspire us to work across denominational lines in order to fulfill our sacred imperative to care for God’s creation.
• Annie Dil­lard, Pil­grim at Tin­ker Creek: A Mys­ti­cal Excur­sion into the Nat­ural World. New York: Ban­tam Books, 1975.
• Heather Eaton, Intro­duc­ing Ecofem­i­nist The­olo­gies. New York, NY: T&T Clark Inter­na­tional, 2005.
• Sam Hamilton-Poore, Earth Gospel: A Guide to Prayer for God’s Creation: offers four weeks of prayer (seven days per week with prayers for morning, midday, and evening) to encourage care of God’s creation.
• Deborah Kolben, “Toward a Greener Judaism.” The Jewish Daily Forward, Jan. 29, 2010.
• Richard Louv, The Nature Prin­ci­ple: Human Restora­tion and the End of Nature-Deficit Dis­or­der. Chapel Hill, North Car­olina: Algo­nquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2011.
• —————- Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder.
• Mallory McDuff, Sacred Acts: How churches are working to protect Earth’s climate: offers stories (including several from Interfaith Power & Light affiliates) about how religious leaders, activists, and everyday parishioners are acting in good faith to define a new environmental movement where honoring the Creator means protecting the planet.
• Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson, Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril: brings together the writings of over 80 faith leaders, gifted writers, scientists, government leaders, business leaders, naturists and activists to make the moral arguments for working to stop Climate Change.
• Karie Marie Norgaard, Living in Denial: Climate Change, Emotions, and Everyday Life: Why is it that people can understand climate change intellectually, but are so resistant to take concrete steps to address it? Norgaard did ethnographic research in both the U.S. and Norway to answer that question.
• Judith Plant, Healing the Wounds: The Promise of Ecofeminism. Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers, 1989.
• Larry L. Rasmussen, Earth Honoring Faith: Religious Ethics in a New Key. Oxford University Press, Nov 2012.
• Scott C. Sabin, Tending to Eden: Environmental Stewardship for God’s People. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2010.
• Barry Sanders, The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of Militarism. AK Press, 2009.
• Steve Van Matre, Earth Edu­ca­tion: A New Begin­ning (1990) and Inter­pre­tive Design and The Dance of Expe­ri­ence (2008). Greenville, West Vir­ginia: The Insti­tute For Earth Education.
• National Council of Churches USA, .
• Jim Vogt and Susan Vogt, “Was Jesus a Tree Hugger? Ecology and Faith,” Every Day Catholic, April 2008.
• Karen J. Warren (ed.), Ecofeminism: Women, Culture, Nature. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1997.
• Anna Case-Winters, Reconstructing a Christian Theology of Nature: Down to Earth. Burlington: Ashgate, 2007.