EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Fourteen, Number Five September / October 2005 The Greening of Congregations From Sister Brenda Walsh Racine WI Great Lakes Bioregion The Racine Green Congregation program is an ecumenical program that encourages congregations to take responsibility as caretakers of the earth. So far, five area Lutheran congregations and one Methodist have created Green Teams to examine the environmental impact their churches are having and to find ways to "reduce, recycle, reuse and restore." The Green Congregation covenant includes pledges to worship in ways that celebrate care for creation; to educate members in ecological issues and practices; to green the buildings and grounds of facilities; to promote an earth-friendly lifestyle; and to get involved in community issues and political advocacy. The Green Sanctuary program of the Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist church in Racine is related to the nationwide UU Seventh Principle Project (www.uuaspp.org), implementing "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part." The program works with other faith-based environmental groups in the area, including the Dominican Eco-Justice Center, and the local Green Congregation Lutheran and Methodist churches. For more on the Green Congregation program, contact Professor David Rhoads at Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago (drhoads@lstc.edu). Resources for faith-based environmental groups are also available at www.webofcreation.org. Home     Table of Contents