Dear Siblings in Christ,

In May, the Synod Assembly passed a resolution for Congregations to Submit a Care of Creation Plan.

This email is to help you follow through on plans and submissions.

You can report your Care of Creation Plan through this simple form, accessed by clicking the button below. It’s really just a couple questions about what your congregation has done and what it is willing to do.

Share Our Congregational Care of Creation Plan

Read on for suggestions about how to get started and for an abundance of ideas and resources!

In Christ,

The SCSW Care for God's Creation Team

Getting Started

As a first step, you might determine who is best to answer the questions. It might be an individual, a group, or getting answers from several different people. That might include the pastor, somebody who works on the building, council president, etc. If you have a green team or care of creation team, that would be an obvious starting point (and please let us know that you have such a team!).

What You're Already Doing

When reporting on things your congregation has already done, you might think big or small. A few starters:

Have you had a class on caring for creation, either for adults or children?
Have you reduced the use of paper in worship? Do you recycle?
Do you have thermostats that adjust for occupied vs. unoccupied usage?
Are there trees, flowers, gardens, or native plants on your property?
Have you upgraded light bulbs or furnaces, or added insulation to be more efficient?
Are there other ways you already reduce energy use?
Do you have solar panels?
Have you fixed a leaky toilet?
Do you use alternatives to Styrofoam?

What You'd Like to Try

Similarly, as you look to plan for what your congregation is willing to do, you can think for easy steps or something more challenging.

You might adjust the amount of fossil fuels used as people come to church, like by carpooling or installing charging stations
You could purchase more local products or biodegradable cleaners
You could start a green team
You could celebrate Earth Day as a congregation
You might build bird or bat houses
You might host a book club for books like “EcoActivist Testament” by ELCA pastor Paul Santmire, or “Braiding Sweetgrass” like the synod Caring for God’s Creation team led, or Aldo Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac,” set in our part of the state. Or do something similar with movies or documentaries
You could host a blessing of pets or of seeds, or gather for a tree planting
You might celebrate the liturgical Season of Creation (click here for resources)
You might host a letter writing campaign advocating for environmental protections
You could use fair trade Eco-Palms for Palm Sunday

Obviously any of these are simply ideas to get you going, and the list could be much longer.

Resources and Links

One great resource to help you along was put together by Sela Lynk, daughter of Pastor Sterling Lynk.

Click the button below to view and download a comprehensive action plan!

View Action Plan

If you’d like to start a green team to continue to work on these sorts of things (or want help with a team you already have), you can find some tips from Lutherans Restoring Creation. (That’s a wonderful organization for much more of these resources, too!)

Visit Lutherans Restoring Creation

You can be paired with a coach to help you through Faith in Place, the Wisconsin association of Interfaith Power & Light.

Visit Faith in Place

Speaking of Interfaith Power & Light, if you’d like to conduct and energy audit and really go big at reducing your carbon footprint, you can find calculators and other resources with their Cool Congregations program. (Look for the sheets on 25 ideas under $25 or over $25 in the start-up kit.)

Visit Interfaith Power & Light

For rostered leaders attending the SCSW Fall Summit, there will be a workshop around the resolution and sharing ideas on Monday, October 13.

Share Your Plans!

We hope you have found these suggestions and resources helpful. Click the button below to view the form for submitting your congregation's Care of Creation Plan. Read through and answer the questions with your team and, when you're ready, send it in by hitting the "submit" button on the form.

Share our Congregational Care of Creation Plan