On February 18, youth and adults from four different congregations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island came together at Irons Homestead for a Youth ...
by The Rev. Victoria Alford Guest, co-chair of the Environmental Ministries Team Whenever you did one of these things for someone overlooked or ignored, you did it for ...
This is an invitation to bear witness – that is, to turn your attention, to see for yourself – the environmental injustice taking place in Jackson, Mississippi. Turn ...
New stories added! Clergy and lay leaders from several SNEUCC congregations traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Poor People’s Campaign Moral March on June ...
Lillian Steinmeyer, Environmental Justice Intern Nature & Neighbors is an ...
by Nancy Leckerling, Co-Chair of the Environmental Ministry Team of First Congregational Church of Guilford, CT The First Congregational Church of Guilford, CT – the ...
If you’re reading this newsletter about justice for people in UCC churches, you probably won’t be surprised to know that I spend a lot of time in meetings. Meetings to ...
Given the rising tensions about the possibility of a nuclear attack by Russia, we citizens and church members of Massachusetts and the Southern New England Conference, ...
These are parched days. We thirst for something to quench the chaos. Our waters, soils, and air are in turmoil. And we long for impactful ways to counter our climate’s ...
Perhaps you, like me, woke up Monday morning to every news outlet alerting you to the latest IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report on the catastrophe ...
by Katherine Schofield, Old South Church On October 11, Old South Church in Boston hosted...
![don-remick-2018[1].jpg](/files/tables/content/14277726/fields/primaryimage/21a526ada5d149baa1f2b9b8de1fcb28/don-remick-2018%5b1%5d.jpg?width=515&height=433&mode=crop&enlarge=true)
There was a time when leadership was chosen by casting lots. Our scripture tells stories of this. But in our time that decision is up to us. But it is no less an act ...
I was delighted to see that Rev. Traci Blackmon, UCC Associate General Minister for Justice and Local Church Ministries and Pastor of Christ the King UCC in Florissant, ...
“ Whoever is faithful in a very little, is also faithful in much...” Luke 16:10 When serving in the parish, I quickly learned that the chief task facing a Stewardship ...
by Margaret Bullitt-Jonas Missioner for Creation Care This special edition of Creation Care Network e-news is brought to you in honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth ...
A note from your SNEUCC Bridge Conference Ministers: This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. And for the first time since that date we have seen evidence of ...
by Margaret Bullitt-Jonas and Leah D. Schade, co-editors of the book Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis Earth Day 2020 comes at a ...
by Barbara Darling and Ted Wade, Co-Chairs Historic Massachusetts Conference Environmental...
Today stirred some theology in my mind and spirit. Here’s a spiritual essay. I write out of my faith tradition with full respect for those of different faiths or no ...
"Our dependence on fossil fuel, if left unchecked, will eventually render much of our world uninhabitable." — Rev. Lois Happe
I’ve never felt particularly called to focus my activism on climate change. I’ve tried to be mindful of my use of resources, but the movement itself, while obviously ...
In the very midst of their destruction, the prophet Isaiah empowers the people of God. The people in exile feel abandoned by God because they have been severed ...
The fire in Notre Dame – literally, “Our Lady” – is over. But the fire on Mother Earth rages on.
...The fossil fuel industry has spent millions of dollars trying to make the climate ...
Earth Day is this month! April 22 is the day set aside—for almost 50 years—to raise awareness of the fragility and vulnerability of our planet.
Hearing from so many others who view climate change as a worrisome issue was helpful for me personally in recognizing that nobody must face it alone.
Reflections from the first Indigenous Peoples March, January 18, 2019, Washington DC
I brought two props with me: a globe and an icon.
* Quote from Professor Katherine Hayhoe, Climate Scientist and Evangelical Christian A blog by Rev. Dr. Jessica McArdle A few weeks ago, I attended a lecture ...
When the leader of one of the world’s major faith traditions convenes two hundred leaders who have given their lives to combat climate change, an endless flow of creative...
Jim Antal presents His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with his book Last week, the religious leaders of a quarter of the world’s population confronted ...
Every year, Grandmother (Uncí) Carole Bubar-Blodgett, of Wabanaki lineage, takes four ...
It’s unusual to see a scientist, a politician, an economist, and a religious leader sitting together at one table to discuss climate change. Yet that’s just what happened...
Three months ago, I attended an unprecedented gathering of Massachusetts religious leaders and climate scientists to discuss the shared imperative to address the climate ...
"We are partners with each other, and with God, in the co-creation of earth, every day."— Pam Arifian
Carbon dioxide emissions have been implicated as a key factor in rising global temperatures. Because all church buildings use energy, much of it derived from carbon-based...
Margaret Bullitt-Jonas and Marisa Brown-Ludwig Every rally has its own energy, a particular mood or spirit that propels it along. That was the case in Northampton, ...
First Congregational Church Guilford already had its Connecticut Conference Level 3 Green Church designation thanks to the hard work of its long time Environmental ...
A crowd inside the Boston State House listens to speakers Under threatening skies, a group of men and women gathers in the basement of the Paulist Center, less than ...
The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it ~ Psalm 24:1 Hurricane Harvey produced a level of rainfall and flooding that "hasn’t ...
Every Friday beginning October 6, I will lead a UCC witness at the State House inviting Gov. Charlie Baker to issue an Executive Order halting the construction of or ...
For the interfaith climate movement in Massachusetts, this is a day for lament, gratitude,...
Like many Americans, I have been gripped by news of the disaster now unfolding along our nation’s Gulf Coast. As torrential rains bear down on Texas and Louisiana and the...
It was a big claim: “Imperatives for a New Moral Era.” It was a big ask: to “resist all expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure and demand new sources of renewable ...
The People’s Climate March on Saturday, April 29th did not disappoint. There were many actions leading up to the big day, including lobbying at Capitol Hill and direct ...
Creation is at a turning point. We are headed toward a climate unseen in 50 million years. Realizing this, what if the church were to begin to act like the earth was the ...
Today is Earth Day, and along with millions of people around the world, I am praying for our blue-green planet, our common home. As part of Amherst Cinema’s “Science on ...
Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, April 2, 2017, delivered by the Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas at The Church of the Covenant, Boston, MA. John 11:1-45 What a blessing ...
Preserving God’s creation is perhaps the greatest theological madate of our time. As climate change worsens – as creation offers chaos in place of continuity - ...
Tornado season started much earlier than usual and we already set a Massachusetts record for the first tornado in February. Weather forecasters herald this as the ...
Interfaith prayer vigils focusing on climate justice will be held all across the nation over the course of 100 hours beginning on noon January 20th. This is a prayerful ...
Proclaim the moral urgency to act for climate justice by joining a movement of interfaith vigils across the nation in the first 100 hours of the new administration.
Faith and fear duke it out Standing at the edge of Oceti Sakowin Camp on Monday, 12/5/16, as a blizzard began to blow in. Beyond the river behind me are Rosebud Camp and...
"Regardless of your political leanings, it can’t be disputed that the environment lost in the recent election." - Pam Arifian
Last Tuesday, Americans voted into office a Presidential candidate who has embraced fossil fuels, called climate change a hoax, and vowed to withdraw from the Paris ...
The Oceti Sakawin Camp at Standing Rock could, upon first sight, appear to be an ancient indigenous harvest gathering, with its smoke rising at dawn from the frosty ...
Samuel answered the Lord, saying, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ...
With only a few days left before the Presidential election, the city of Washington, D.C., is humming with anxiety. The taxi driver from Ethiopia asks, “Have you voted ...
A brief presentation to lay and clergy deputies of the 115th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, delivered on October 29, 2016. The three...
Imagine there is a fire in your house. What do you do? What do you think about? You do whatever you can to try to put out the fire or exit the house. You make a plan ...
Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, June 12, 2016. Delivered by the Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Ashfield, MA. 1 Kings 21:1-21a ...
The day before I got arrested, I woke up singing. “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around, turn me around, turn me around. Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around." ...
Dear UCC Colleagues and Friends, On this series of wonderful spring days, I’m reminded of the beauty and inestimable worth of God’s great gift of creation. As an ...
The celebration of Earth Day began in 1970 and has now spread to 192 countries. The early organizers could not imagine that almost fifty years later environmental issues ...
Leading the national setting of the UCC as our Minister of Environmental Justice is the Rev. Dr. Brooks Berndt. From time to time he assembles excellent material on ...
Photo by Robert Jonas Sometimes I am perfectly capable of scanning large swathes of bad news with aplomb, keeping my feelings at bay. I know how to brace myself ...
For many months I have been working with the national setting of the UCC to prepare for the UCC April mission emphasis “Keep it in the ground.” The hope is that this ...
On Day #3 of a four-day, 46-mile walk to stop the construction of the Kinder Morgan NED pipeline, scores of activists gathered in the sanctuary of St. James Episcopal ...
A presentation to clergy and lay leaders in the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts that was given on Parish Leadership Day, March 5, 2016. A handout of suggested ...
Each year, as Ash Wednesday approaches, the many years I spent in close contact with Henri Nouwen exert a pull, reminding me of how attuned Henri was to the liturgical ...
Advent is a perfect time to explore how our faith empowers us to face our fears and work for peace through climate justice.
The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal speaks during a meeting at the State Department between a coalition of religious climate leaders, Deputy Special envoy for Climate Change Karen ...
None of us should be surprised that the Pope himself has to show up to get the leaders of ...
Today I join the millions who remember and mourn the death of civil rights champion Julian...
Dear Environmental Contacts, This may well be my last email to you all! Following General Synod this next week, I will be finishing my term as Climate Justice Intern ...
Thursday, June 18, 2015 Dear sisters and brothers and siblings in Christ, Future generations will look back upon this day as a hinge moment on which creation’s future...
Long-Awaited Encyclical Unveiled Tomorrow Tomorrow morning, on Thursday, June 18, around the time of daybreak in Massachusetts, the Vatican will be releasing Pope Francis...
After historic news this week, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that we are approaching the optimal moment to chart a course for fossil fuel divestment. And not for the ...
By the end of this month, Pope Francis will release the most widely anticipated document to date at the crossroads of religion and ecology. The pope has long been an ...
West Parish Church in Andover recently hit a snag in their attempts to go solar and follow the advice of a cherished hymn to “let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.” ...
If you’re reading this, I’m guessing you care about the earth. And if you’re like me, you’re intentional about how you spend your time. Recognizing that, I want to ...
Patrick Cage is the climate justice intern for the Massachusetts Conference, UCC. For a related blog post by Conference Minister Jim Antal click here. In the United ...
Church of the Covenant in Boston now has an investment portfolio that is 100% fossil free! A federated church between the UCC and the PCUSA, Church of the Covenant voted ...
Are you ready to bring your climate commitment outside the hallowed halls of your church?
A week of sit-ins for divestment, the Green Summit in Lowell, a sustainable churches workshop, a march for a climate justice Springfield & a cutting edge bike ride that ...
This final blog post of mine marks our last night on the Pipeline Pilgrimage.
As has threaded through these blog posts and our social media presence, the hospitality on this pilgrimage has been incredible to the point of almost being overwhelming. ...
We’ve been joking for over a week now that we have not had quite enough suffering on the road to qualify us as proper Pilgrims. Sure, we’ve earned our fair share of ...
The presence of infants and children has been an unexpected delight, lightening our steps throughout the pilgrimage. We had a baby brigade for our walk today, ...
“It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work,
We have crossed a threshold. Tonight marks the halfway point of our Pilgrimage, having put six days behind us with six more ahead. This afternoon, we crossed from ...
Along this route, I keep mentioning that I have never done anything like the Pipeline ...
This morning, the Pipeline Pilgrimage encountered our first real challenge since hitting the road. Sue walked out to her Ford Taurus in the parking lot of UCC Conway to ...
We’re well past the eleventh hour on Good Friday, the most heartbreaking day in the Christian liturgical calendar, so be warned: the tone of this post is pretty somber.
Today was glorious. Within an hour of leaving the church in Dalton, we were outside the reach of Town, walking a country road among rolling hills of hemlock and white ...
With bleary eyes, I write this first blog post from the office of First Congregational Church in Dalton, where we will be turning in tonight following an evening of ...
When you start to do the research, you realize that basically nobody outside the Kinder Morgan boardroom wants this pipeline. You might be an affected landowner dismayed...
Roughly a fortnight into my time with the MACUCC, Conference Minister & President Jim Antal and I struck a deal. Should ten Massachusetts UCC churches take up new ...
As MACUCC Churches Join the Movement to Divest from Fossil Fuel Companies – So Can Individuals Over two years ago, the MACUCC Board of Directors was the first religious...
It’s not often that an intern gets to dream up amusing mishaps for his employer and then ...
What the UCC can stand for: a blog by Conference environmental intern Patrick Cage.
When it comes to creation - the voice of the church matters. When it comes to climate activism among churches, the unified voice of the church matters. Since 2010, the...
The largest climate march in history took place Sunday in Manhattan, aimed at the world leaders arriving at the UN for a Summit on Global Climate Change to begin Tuesday,...
Jim Antal invites you to an important event in September.
This month's installment has suggestions about how you and others in your congregations ...
A new article in the United Church News focuses on the Congregational Church of Needham's ...
With our leadership, people of faith can recognize that just as the Civil Rights movement adopted new behaviors as a Holy expression of covenant with the future, so can ...