St. Paul’s United Church of Christ | Earthwise-Creation Justice Committee
Adopted by congregational vote, Oct. 25, 2020
In gratitude for all of creation, which supports and nourishes us in body and spirit—
In grief for damage inflicted on vital ecosystems, for the loss of innumerable species, and for the suffering of people in our community and around the world—
We confess that our way of life is deeply entangled with exploitation; that how we get our food and shelter, how we move through our days, and how we fill our time depend on practices that harm the most vulnerable people and places.
We recognize that our relationships with land and water, our sibling species, and our fellow human beings are deeply broken, and that this reflects a fracture in our relationship to the Creator of us all.
Yet we dare to imagine a way of life that heals rather than harms. Where care and community come before endless seeking for individual gain. Where we find riches in each other instead of in things. This is God’s Kin-dom.
We therefore commit ourselves to repairing our relationships with all of creation. We commit to working for the end of practices and systems that exploit the Earth, her creatures, and her people. We commit to building new ways of seeing and new ways of being.
We begin this work in our own congregation. We will attune ourselves in worship and prayer to gratitude and grief for creation. We will educate ourselves and each other about the damage being done to land, water, air, creatures, and communities and the systems causing harm. We will adopt practices in our building, on our grounds, and in our homes and lives that lessen harm and begin healing.
Yet the call to co-create God’s Kin-dom is too wonderful, too vast, and too urgent to keep to ourselves. We will work with others to take the vision beyond our walls and into our community. We will build partnerships to break down harmful systems. We will give voice to the voiceless, that their stories and needs may be heard.
Together we will journey toward deeper faith, justice, and love for all creation.
Drafted by the Creation Justice Church Task Force: Tracy Kugler, Marissa Dakay, Debra George, Tracie Olson Payne, David Weiss, Clare Gromoll