How can we care for God’s creation and take action? Below you will find a wide variety of actions to protect and restore the Earth.
Take the Pledge to Care for Creation
Join others throughout the Episcopal Church in making a commitment to the Earth. The Pledge to Care for Creation is part of living as the Jesus Movement. It’s a promise to protect and renew this good Earth and all who call it home. It’s a promise to share our stories, stand with those who are most vulnerable, and live more gently on the Earth. Take your pledge.
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Participate in the Sustain Island Home Carbon Tracker. This web-based tool developed by the Diocese of California is designed to help you understand how your current household choices are affecting carbon dioxide emissions, and to support you in making choices that are more sustainable and economic. It will allow you to measure your carbon footprint, take individual action, aggregate impacts across the broader Church, and help you advocate for climate protection.
Start a Creation Care Group or a “Green Team”
Work together with others at your church! Leverage the actions of a few to spark actions by many. A Creation Care team can inspire, educate, and support a congregation as it moves toward environmental sustainability and responsibility. Wondering how to launch such a team? Unsure where should it begin and what should it do? Here’s a short guide, How to Start a Green Team at Your Church that will get you started and give you some ideas.
Why stop at the congregation level? Get inspiration from what others in the diocese have been doing, and help them learn from your efforts! The diocese has a public Facebook page called Creation Care for Arizona Episcopal Diocese which is an information-sharing resource. Click on “Like” and “Follow” to stay up to date.
Other Activities
- Move to alternative energy sources, such as solar power or wind power.
- Look for creation-friendly tips on better ways to travel, eat, shop and vote.
- Reduce your contribution to the waste stream by using less, reusing items, recycling, and repurposing. If your community doesn’t recycle or limits what can be recycled, consider using a private recycling source such as TerraCycle.
- Reduce your water use by installing low-flow toilets and shower heads, landscaping with low water-using and native plants, and reusing greywater. Check out more tips from the EPA and the Arizona Department of Water Resources.