Religious Outreach | Earth Day Network

Programs and Events

Earth Day: Something We Can All Believe In

one Earth Day Network’s Communities of Faith Climate Campaign educates leaders and members of religious communities to bring climate change education and opportunities for civic activism to those associated with religious life.

Earth Day 2010

Earth Day Network co-sponsored the 2010 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC with The National Religious Coalition on Creation Care (NRCCC). The interfaith coalition and guests gathered to prepare for a week of meetings with Congress and government officials to address the impacts of climate change from a religious perspective. The NRCCC also honored climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen, with the annual Steward of God’s creation award.

At the breakfast, Earth Day Network president Kathleen Rogers addressed the pressing need for Congress to pass a comprehensive climate bill in 2010. Pursuing the passage of strong, fair climate legislation in 2010 is an important focus for Earth Day Network in the U.S. for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

The breakfast also featured organizational leaders from the Jewish, Catholic, Evangelical and Orthodox Christian communities who guided attendees in prayer and spoke about the moral and ethical dimensions of climate change as related to creation care.

“We are called by our religious traditions to serve as a bold voice for justice,” said Rabbi Warren Stone, co-chair for the NRCCC. ”Climate change will have a dramatic impact on hundreds of millions of the poorest people on our planet, especially those who live in coastal areas.”

“Climate change is one of the most serious issues that society faces,” said Reverend Owen Owens, co-chair for the NRCCC. “Pursuing a wise and responsible lifestyle becomes a moral and ethical issue on which churches have a responsibility to speak. Every major religious organization has a statement on the importance of addressing climate change. These statements are forming a unified voice that call citizens and elected officials to do everything possible to hold off climate change.”

Earth Day History with Communities of Faith

Last year, Earth Day Network asked Catholic parishes to participate in Earth Day Sunday by delivering a homily or sermon that explains moral responsibility to protect Creation. Earth Day Network also asked parishes to offer intentions at Mass for an equitable solution to climate change, and organize a parish-wide program to help weatherize the homes of parishioners or community members, with special attention given to low income parishioners.

In coordination with the National Council of Churches, the Religious Coalition on Creation Care and other inter-faith organizations, EDN integrated faith based Earth Day observances into nation wide Earth Day 2008 actions. We activated 500,000 parishioners in areas of the country that have not responded to the climate crises in support of climate legislation that invests in renewable energy and the creation of green jobs and helps low-income Americans transition to the new green economy.

In light of the opportunity provided by Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States in 2008, Earth Day Network reached out to Roman Catholic parishes across the country, inviting them to participate in Earth Day Sunday.

Our fax campaign reached out to thousands of parishes, and the response was overwhelmingly encouraging. Many churches pledged to join us for Earth Day Sunday by including climate change and equitable sustainability in their homilies, post information in their weekly bulletins, and/or offer intentions for the environment during Mass; others filled us in on their year-round parish green programs.

Earth Day on the National Mall in Washington DC also carried an interfaith message of care for the planet, with Reverend Richard Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals, Rabbi Warren Stone of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Farah El-Sharif of the Georgetown University Muslim Students Association, and Paul Maus of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

On Earth Day 2007, EDN was successful in creating 12,000 sermons and religious events through outreach to leaders from the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian faiths.

Illinois Synagogue Receives LEED Platinum Certification

The Jewish Reconstructionist Synagogue in Evanston, Illinois, has just become the first house of worship in North America to receive the prestigious Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) ranking from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Rabbi Brant Rosen said: "More importantly, this singular accomplishment represents our commitment as Jews to value of 'Bal Tashchit:' the sacred sustainability of our world. Our new building, five years in the planning and building, is an outgrowth of our faith and dedication to being worthy stewards of God's creation: our magnificent earth. Being the first house of worship in North America to receive this designation confirms the spiritual rewards of pursuing a congregation building where faith, religious values, and thoughtful and innovative environmental construction are mutually reinforcing. "

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