American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) has long heard God’s call to tend, love and care for God’s creation and all people.  We have understood that ecological care and human justice are one, two sides of the same coin. In 2016, the ABC Creation Justice Network, a Taskforce of the ABCUSA Board of General Ministries, was formed to encourage individuals and congregations to engage in this critical witness and work of the Gospel. The ABCUSA Office of the General Secretary has partnered with the ABC Creation Justice Network and ecoAmerica through their program “Blessed Tomorrow” to galvanize the work our churches have been doing on climate solutions and to build visible national leadership. Blessed Tomorrow is a program by people of faith, for people of faith, offering ideas, tools and language that are familiar, compelling and effective in addressing climate change.

The organization ecoAmerica provides strategies, research, resources and tools to help national organizations become leaders on climate solutions through effective advocacy and engagement of their constituents. Together Blessed Tomorrow and ecoAmerica provide resources that put us on a path to a positive future while maintaining the unique voice of American Baptist Churches USA.

Blessed Tomorrow engages a coalition of faith leaders who seek to advocate for climate change, recognizing the moral imperative to care for God’s creation.

Working in partnership, ABCUSA and Blessed Tomorrow seek to:

1. Build visible national leadership on climate solutions, institutionalizing climate action as a faith imperative within our denomination;
2. Build climate literate national and community leaders, including pastors, by providing educational resources and materials;
3. Engage ABC member congregations in climate solutions, including the development of Creation Justice Churches in collaboration with the Creation Justice Network; and
4. Build collective support and action for climate solutions.

We encourage you to visit the links below for additional information and resources to get your churches and community to begin talking about climate solutions. If your church is already involved in seeking climate solutions, we hope you will find new ideas and valuable resources below to enhance the work you are doing. And of course, please send us news of the great projects you are doing so we can share it with others.

With Blessed Tomorrow, we can offer introductory workshops and training sessions for clergy and congregations. Please contact Rev. Marsha Scipio at marsha.scipio@abc-usa.org.

Resources

• Visit the American Baptist Churches USA Creation Justice Network
• Creation Justice Congregations Brochure
• The Blessed Tomorrow Moving Forward: A Guide to Climate Action For Your Congregation and Community provides you with information and resources to reduce energy use, to build resilient houses of worship as refuges from a changing climate, and to encourage support for policies that better care for creation.
• Blessed Tomorrow – Resources to Inspire Others
• American Baptist Churches Invited to Partner with ecoAmerica through Carbon Offset Program
• Journeying Toward the Summit by the Sea  A Pastoral Letter on Environmental Care and Creation Justice in observance of the 48th Anniversary of Earth Day
  by Rev. Dr. Lee B. Spitzer, ABCUSA General Secretary
• Lets Talk Faith and Climate brochure

Blogs

• BUGS by Dr. David Wheeler
• An Advent Reflection on the Water Crisis by Kathleen Moore

Additional Links:

• Visit Blessed Tomorrow for more information.
• Visit ecoAmerica here.