Religious Communities

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth— and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters— Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light. God saw that the light was good.

April 22, 2017 marks the 47th anniversary of Earth Day, a secular celebration that many faith communities have incorporated into their annual calendars. This year, we join with the Earth Day Network to celebrate Earth Day and to embrace our call as Catholics to increase awareness of care for creation and climate change issues. This Earth Day program should be seen as the beginning of an educational campaign to increase creation care and climate literacy within our parishes, schools, and religious communities.

Michael Lasky: Franciscan Friar from Climate Stories NC on Vimeo.

Father Mike from Climate Stories NC on Vimeo.

This 45-minute webinar will help you write quality Letters to the Editor (LTE) responding to energy and climate change articles in your local newspaper, and give you tips on how to:

The most effective way of asking your legislator for support for climate protection measures is to set up a face-to-face meeting. Our "Setting Up a Meeting with your Legislator" toolkit provide a framework for setting up your meeting and making it as productive as possible.

This program is designed with the 2016 Feast of St. Francis (October 4) in mind. However, we hope you will feel free to implement the program at a time that is convenient to your parish or school.

As you know, Pope Francis was so inspired by St. Francis of Assisi that he is the first Roman pontiff to take the saint’s name. He has challenged us to make care for creation and care for the poor a cornerstone of our Catholic witness.

This year marks the 37th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi being named the Patron Saint of those who promote ecology by St. John Paul II.

Care for Creation in the Holy Year of Mercy is a call-and response style prayer service for a leader and congregation, asking for God's protection of the planet in this Year of Mercy. It can be found

From the Catholic Climate Covenant, RENEW International, and GreenFaith, Creation at the Crossroads is a small-group resource for studying and internalizing the message of Laudato Si'. Focusing on Pope Francis's message of love as the most potent tool for action, this study guide is a motivational call to action. It can be viewed here.