Working within and across communities of faith to urgently fulfill our sacred duty to love and protect Creation, address our changing climate and ensure justice for all life.
Working within and across communities of faith to urgently fulfill our sacred duty to love and protect Creation, address our changing climate and ensure justice for all life.
We are guided by faith, informed by science, and focused on environmental justice
Recap of the 2024 Convention
Celtic Symbol of the Spirit
The Spirit-filled ICCT Action Traction Convention
Reverend Megan M. Pardue set the stage by reminding us that “hope is not a thing you feel, but a thing you do.” To keep from despair and maintain hope, she suggests that we “sow the seeds together” and “sow the seeds even when you don’t feel like planting.” See Megan’s inspirational message on the ICCT YouTube channel.
Over 90 people sowed a lot of seeds, together, on January 27. If you missed it, or if you lost your notes, or just want a refresher, we have the full story.
I enjoyed the excellent meeting yesterday. I like to attend meetings that provide new thought-provoking information. It gave me ideas of what our church might be able to do….
~~Joe Burton, ICCT Liaison to Highland United Methodist Church
Climate and Our Money
DIVEST–INVEST
Forum on How to Stop Funding Fossil Fuels
Amazing Resources and the Recording Now Available
Forty people joined our local forum on how individuals and faith communities can help push back against climate change with their financial decisions. It was presented by the Earth Care Witness Committee of the Durham Friends Meeting (Quaker) and cosponsored by ICCT on November 2, 2023. Author Jennie Ratcliffe and Dale Everts, a climate activist formerly with the EPA addressed our spiritual grounding, the scope of current and planned fossil fuel investments, who’s funding them, and tips on how to divest our money.
Learn more and access the recording, Presentation,
and How-To Guide here.
Gratitude for Creation:
Hosted by Greystone Baptist Church
7509 Leadmine Road, Raleigh
(Please Use the Sawmill Rd. Parking Lot)
Co-sponsored by:
Interfaith Creation Care of the Triangle
and Triangle Interfaith Alliance
Join us for a gathering of people from many faiths who will celebrate gratitude for Creation with sacred readings, song, prayers, a dramatic reading, and reflections on Creation care from different faith traditions. See the faith leaders participating in this beautiful order of service.
The gathering will be held in the Greystone sanctuary (not outdoors, as previously indicated). Refreshments will be served during a time of fellowship after the service.
If you plan to attend, please register here
so we have an idea of how many people to plan for.
ICCT Announces Results of Earth-Friendly Practices Survey
Many of our faith communities have responded to a survey detailing their earth-friendly practices. We are happy to present the collected responses, along with a dynamic map locating the congregations that have responded.
Reflecting the Sacred Through Our Creation Care Practices
Today, as the climate crisis calls us to consider what it means to be good stewards of creation, it also asks us to consider how that sacred care can be reflected in where we worship and what we do there. Earth care practices are bubbling up throughout the 90 ICCT faith communities—from solar installations and upgraded HVAC systems to rain gardens and prayer services. From the modest to the more elaborate, all of these matter.
If you feel called to engage your congregation in creation care work, or if your community is already doing such work, we want to hear from you! Take our Earth Friendly Practices survey. You can also reach out to other faith communities via our contact form: learn about their projects, and share information and expertise. Join us!
Youth Leaders Initiative 2023
High school youth and their adult leaders from NC Triangle faith communities are invited to participate in the Youth Leaders Initiative (YLI) sponsored by ICCT and NC Interfaith Power & Light. For more information, please contact Liz Becker at ICCTliasons@gmail.com.
Twenty-two youth and their adult leaders participated in listening and planning sessions during the summer of 2023 so the youths’ interests and ideas about Creation care could help determine the direction of the YLI.
Rishi Ranabothu has joined YLI leaders Ren Martin and Liz Becker (see them in the photo above, from left to right – Ren, Liz and Rishi). He is serving as a leader and mentor to YLI youth. A Hindu from Cary, NC, Rishi is 18 years old and a rising sophomore majoring in Biostatistics at UNC-Chapel Hill. He has always been an advocate for Creation Care, but realized he needed to do more after a 2016 visit to India where he traveled through a mix of wondrous natural beauty and heavily polluted regions. Back in the US, he started with small steps at his local temple and worked with NCIPL to involve other youth and congregations in bigger projects. The group evolved into the Youth Leadership Initiative and he led it for 5 years before attending college. Upon learning about the renewal of the YLI, he reached out to ICCT and NCIPL to offer his help.
See photos and read about the
June Listening Session Youth Leaders Initiative 2023.
ICCT & ONE Wake on Energy Efficiency
As a matter of environmental and economic justice, ICCT is committed to making energy efficiency equity an integral part of affordable housing for low-income residents. To that end, twenty people in the ICCT network spoke up at ONE Wake listening sessions this spring to share concerns about rising energy utility bills that are estimated to double within the next 6 years.
As hoped, at the June 8, 2023 Internal Assembly, ONE Wake members voted to continue their focus on affordable housing and add a research and action subcommittee to address unaffordable energy costs. ICCT leaders have joined the subcommittee to help find ways for low income households to decrease energy consumption through access to IRA and IIJA federal funding rolling out soon for repairs, insulation, weatherization, high efficiency heating and air conditioning, and renewable energy. If you are in the Wake County area, you’re invited to join us on One Wake’s Affordable Housing Research Action Subcommittee.
Planning for Season of Creation 2023
The Season of Creation this year will be celebrated from September 1 to October 4. Its theme is Let Justice and Peace Flow based on verse above in the Book of Amos 5:24 in the Christian Bible. The season is an excellent opportunity to weave inspirational Creation care messages into worship and education programs at your congregation. The Season of Creation Celebration Guide will help you learn more about the season and plan to celebrate. Ecumenical faith leaders from across the world have shared their reflections and others have prepared a 6-minute video to invite you to take part in the season. The Season of Creation website has more resources, including webinars and prayer services, sample flyers, social media channels and more.
Urban Forestry & Racial Justice Discussion
“Building Capacity” is Critical for Urban and
Community Forestry Projects in our Communities
Seventy people – in-person and on zoom – tuned in for the Urban Forestry & Racial Justice Panel Discussion on May 11, 2023. A recording is available here. It was a collaborative effort by Interfaith Creation Care of the Triangle, the Central NC & Cape Fear Region Citizens’ Climate Lobby Chapter, Carolina Jews for Justice, and Temple Beth Or’s Tikkun Olam Environmental Sustainability Subcommittee.
Whether you attended or not, you can urge your public officials to take action by clicking here. Use a sample message to easily email your municipal and county leaders to let them know about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding coming soon for urban forestry projects in underserved communities.
If there was one solid take-away from the discussion, it was that “building capacity” is essential – if we want to connect underserved communities with the $1.5 billion in the IRA’s urban and community forestry funds. But what does “building capacity” mean for the lay person who wants to help?
Earth Care Practices Survey for Faith Communities
Since its inception, ICCT has held the firm belief that together, faith communities will make a powerful impact on the growing climate crisis. Happily, earth care practices at the 78 ICCT faith communities are bubbling up everywhere. To learn from and inspire each other, ICCT’s Earth Friendly Practices Action Team has created a survey for Triangle congregations.
Tell us about creation care in your faith community
Our new blog series highlights Creation Care in ICCT faith communities. We want to hear how your church, temple, mosque, or other place of worship is caring for creation. Send us your updates via this Contact Us link.
The Letter, a Poignant New Documentary
New Documentary Highlights Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home by Pope Francis. Pope Francis issued his encyclical letter, Laudato Si' in 2015. Now a new feature-length documentary, The Letter: A Message for our Earth, movingly brings to life his transformative vision for a renewed earth and a renewed humanity.
You can watch the trailer hereand the film can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube.
NCSU Study on Toxins & Justice
Members of two ICCT Faith communities are participating in Dr. Cathrine Hoyo's study on the effect of environmental contaminants such as PFAS and toxic metals on liver health. Data from the CDC shows the body burden of these contaminants is disproportionately borne by ethnic minorities and the.
Read more about the study here.
Earth Day is everyday!
Check out this incredible resource: “31 Days of Climate Action” to discover how you and your faith community can help reverse climate change with just 10 minutes of effort per day.
Read More
2022 Prayer Chain for the Earth
Save Our Mother and Vote/Pray are some of the messages from almost 200 folks holding signs that greeted drivers on Raleigh’s Wade Avenue during ICCT’s 2nd Prayer Chain for the Earth on October 3, 2022.
See the videos, read a stirring blog on this amazing happening.
Congress Can Act on Composting!
Good news! The U.S. Senate passed the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act on July 28, 2022. ICCT supported the bill when we hosted an April 2022 webinar presented by the U.S. Composting Council and attended by 50 people in April 2022.
Webinar and Advocacy Resources
Explore Creation Care Resources
Our Resources page lists dozens of faith-based and science-based online resources, books and volunteer opportunities. Read about some of our favorites in our Reviews of Resources.
The Pentagon, Climate Change & War
A 2023 Zoom forum, attended by 96 people, featured author Neta C. Crawford, Professor at the University of Oxford discussing her book on the Pentagon, the world’s largest single greenhouse gas emitter and how to break the link between national security and fossil fuels.
See more information and videos.
An Ecumenical Prayer Service
People of all faiths and the entire community were welcomed to the BeeLoved Community Garden of West Raleigh Presbyterian Church, Raleigh on Saturday, September 24, 2022. The service was sponsored by Interfaith Creation Care of the Triangle and Church Women United of Raleigh.
Read more about this activity
Earth: Beloved Community
Christian McIvor, Composer and Minister of Worship, Music and the Arts
Greystone Baptist Church, Raleigh
What a joy to hear Christian sing his composition, Earth: Beloved Community, at the ICCT meeting on April 26, 2022. He said, "I feel that I have begun to live into the song I wrote, as I have done my best to make creation justice one of the main areas of my ministry.
Read more, listen to the recording, and access the words, lead sheet, and chord sheets for the song generously offered to us and to our faith communities.
Join Us as a Faith Community Liaison
With a small commitment of your time, you can help build a more vibrant Creation care community in the Triangle and help your faith community benefit from our Creation care resources.
Find out how!
Tales of Environmental Racial Injustice in North Carolina
The voices of people of color in North Carolina are repeatedly ignored in decisions on where to build dumps, hazardous waste sites, and other industrial polluting operations.
Read the stories of this sordid history here.
Renovating or Building Green: Where to Start
Faith communities, homeowners, and businesses are renovating or building green. This February 2022 ICCT program covered the benefits of green building for sustainability, energy efficiency and savings, and greener building codes.
See More Information and Watch the Recording
Lenten Resources 2023
Greener Lent invites you to discover or rediscover the beauty and value of Lent with a new approach to the practice of fasting. It offers a simple way to adopt a plant rich diet while reducing or abstaining from meat while leading to spiritual and environmental wellbeing. There are four fasting levels, allowing people choice in their level of abstaining and offering doable challenges for everyone, including those who currently eat meat almost every day.
More Information
A Plant-Rich Diet
On November 6, 2021, Dilip Barman, an accomplished chef, and Emily Barrett, a sustainability expert led a dynamic discussion on how to care for the earth, optimize your health, and promote compassion for animals at the very same time! Watch the video and see great resources from the speakers.
A Dialogue on Climate Action with Triangle Clergy and U.S. Representative Deborah Ross
Eighty people joined the virtual Triangle Clergy Dialogue with Rep. Deborah Ross on Climate Action on September 27, 2021. Watch the video of this powerful coming together of faith leaders, the Congresswoman and members of congregations all over the Triangle. .
More Information & Video
Join Us as a Faith Community Liaison
With a small commitment of your time, you can help build a more vibrant Creation care community in the Triangle and help your faith community benefit from our Creation care resources.
Find out how!
Explore Creation Care Resources
Our Resources page lists dozens of faith-based and science-based online resources, books and volunteer opportunities. Read about some of our favorites in our Reviews of Resources.
Tell us about creation care in your faith community
Our new blog series highlights Creation Care in ICCT faith communities. We want to hear how your church, temple, mosque, or other place of worship is caring for creation. Send us your updates via this Contact Us link.
Renovating or Building Green: Where to Start
Faith communities, homeowners, and businesses are renovating or building green. This February 2022 ICCT program covered the benefits of green building for sustainability, energy efficiency and savings, and greener building codes.
See More Information and Watch the Recording
Earth Day is everyday!
Check out this incredible resource: “31 Days of Climate Action” to discover how you and your faith community can help reverse climate change with just 10 minutes of effort per day.
Read More
Congress Can Act on Composting!
Good news! The U.S. Senate passed the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act on July 28, 2022. ICCT supported the bill when we hosted an April 2022 webinar presented by the U.S. Composting Council and attended by 50 people in April 2022.
Webinar and Advocacy Resources
The Pentagon, Climate Change & War
A 2023 Zoom forum, attended by 96 people, featured author Neta C. Crawford, Professor at the University of Oxford discussing her book on the Pentagon, the world’s largest single greenhouse gas emitter and how to break the link between national security and fossil fuels.
See more information and videos.
An Ecumenical Prayer Service
People of all faiths and the entire community were welcomed to the BeeLoved Community Garden of West Raleigh Presbyterian Church, Raleigh on Saturday, September 24, 2022. The service was sponsored by Interfaith Creation Care of the Triangle and Church Women United of Raleigh.
Read more about this activity
The Letter, a Poignant New Documentary
New Documentary Highlights Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home by Pope Francis. Pope Francis issued his encyclical letter, Laudato Si' in 2015. Now a new feature-length documentary, The Letter: A Message for our Earth, movingly brings to life his transformative vision for a renewed earth and a renewed humanity.
You can watch the trailer hereand the film can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube.
NCSU Study on Toxins & Justice
Members of two ICCT Faith communities are participating in Dr. Cathrine Hoyo's study on the effect of environmental contaminants such as PFAS and toxic metals on liver health. Data from the CDC shows the body burden of these contaminants is disproportionately borne by ethnic minorities and the.
Read more about the study here.
Earth: Beloved Community
Christian McIvor, Composer and Minister of Worship, Music and the Arts
Greystone Baptist Church, Raleigh
What a joy to hear Christian sing his composition, Earth: Beloved Community, at the ICCT meeting on April 26, 2022. He said, "I feel that I have begun to live into the song I wrote, as I have done my best to make creation justice one of the main areas of my ministry.
Read more, listen to the recording, and access the words, lead sheet, and chord sheets for the song generously offered to us and to our faith communities.
2022 Prayer Chain for the Earth
Save Our Mother and Vote/Pray are some of the messages from almost 200 folks holding signs that greeted drivers on Raleigh’s Wade Avenue during ICCT’s 2nd Prayer Chain for the Earth on October 3, 2022.
See the videos, read a stirring blog on this amazing happening.
Environmental Racial Injustice in North Carolina
The voices of people of color in North Carolina are repeatedly ignored in decisions on where to build dumps, hazardous waste sites, and other industrial polluting operations.
Read the stories of this sordid history here.
Lenten Resources 2023
Greener Lent invites you to discover or rediscover the beauty and value of Lent with a new approach to the practice of fasting. It offers a simple way to adopt a plant rich diet while reducing or abstaining from meat while leading to spiritual and environmental wellbeing. There are four fasting levels, allowing people choice in their level of abstaining and offering doable challenges for everyone, including those who currently eat meat almost every day.
More Information
A Plant-Rich Diet
On November 6, 2021, Dilip Barman, an accomplished chef, and Emily Barrett, a sustainability expert led a dynamic discussion on how to care for the earth, optimize your health, and promote compassion for animals at the very same time! Watch the video and see great resources from the speakers.
A Dialogue on Climate Action with Triangle Clergy and U.S. Representative Deborah Ross
Eighty people joined the virtual Triangle Clergy Dialogue with Rep. Deborah Ross on Climate Action on September 27, 2021. Watch the video of this powerful coming together of faith leaders, the Congresswoman and members of congregations all over the Triangle. .
More Information & Video