Presbyterians for Earth Care - This Tuesday's Faith & Climate Event & a New Hymn for This Earth Sunday (April 21)

National Faith + Climate Forum THIS TUESDAY, April 16, 2024 12:00 pm – 5:15 pm ET | 9:00 am – 2:15 pm PT This event is streamed live, showcasing national faith leaders. It offers local, in-person watch parties and engagement opportunities. We warmly invite all individuals of faith to participate. If you believe in the moral responsibility to care for creation for the sake of our faith, our congregations, our families, communities, and future generations, join the National Faith + Climate Forum on April 16, 2024! Changes in our climate are increasingly impacting congregations, and clergy and lay leaders, like you, are searching for ways to be part of the solution. Deepen your understanding on how to engage your congregation in creation care, work toward just and equitable solutions, and connect with other faith leaders locally and nationally. Why Join This transformative experience will empower you to take meaningful and actionable steps toward caring for creation and implement just and equitable solutions in your congregation. Whether you are just getting started or have been engaging in climate for some time, this event is for you. The forum will: Empower You: The forum will equip and support clergy members and faith leaders with the knowledge and resources to effectively integrate creation care into your preaching, teaching, and pastoral work. Inspire Your Congregation: Explore practical ways to engage your congregation in creation care through denominational and faith and climate programs, such as the One Home One Future Campaign, and Blessed Tomorrow. Connect With a Vibrant Faith + Climate Community: Join interactive sessions where you’ll have the unique opportunity to network with other local and national faith-based leaders who are passionate about advancing faith and climate work. Strengthen Your Congregation’s Collaboration: Attend in-person at host locations across the US to foster a deep sense of unity and shared purpose, and galvanize local-level collaboration in your community. In an era marked by unprecedented challenges, the intersection of faith and climate has emerged as a powerful and inclusive force for progress. What to Expect By infusing the forum with purposeful discussions, practical workshops, and opportunities to engage (see draft agenda here), we will lay the groundwork for lasting progress that resonates within our faith communities and reverberates throughout our congregations and the world. You will carry forward renewed purpose and direction for creation care – fortified by faith – along with determination to preserve our given home for generations to come.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER (free)

Dear PEC Friend, The Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Sunday, April 21, 2024, the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year B), include Psalm 23:1-6 and the Gospel of John 10:11-18.  The biblical texts were the inspiration for a new hymn by Presbyterian pastor Carolyn Winfrey Gillette for this coming Sunday.  Permission is given for free use of this hymn, including streaming online.  Please share it with other pastors and church musicians.  The hymn combines biblical images with concern for God’s creation with the climate crisis.  Earth Day is April 22, 2024. O God, Within the Psalms TERRA BEATA ("This is My Father’s World") O God, within the Psalms are pictures of your love: There, young trees grow as waters flow and mountains rise above. The creatures with their young, the birds that fill the air, the gentle rain, the harvest grain proclaim your love and care. And in the Psalms we see a Shepherd’s love expressed. Lord, you provide and lead and guide, and we— your sheep— are blessed. You give us food to eat,   and water— safe and clear. Yes, we’re restored, O Shepherd Lord, by all you give us here. Yet as we look ahead, we fear the things we see. As earth cries out through storm and drought, we wonder what will be. We take more than our share; we plunder and destroy. God, we confess we’ve made a mess of things that bring you joy. We see within the Psalms a world where nature sings. Help us to share, and work, and care for all your growing things. O Shepherd, we’ve been blessed; may we be blessings, too. This is our prayer: May we take care of this good earth with you. Biblical references:  Psalms 1:3;121;147; 104; 72:16; 23; 8 and 24 Tune: Traditional English melody ("This is My Father's World")  (MIDI) Text: Copyright © 2024 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved. Email: carolynshymns@gmail.com New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com The hymn’s verse about the “earth cries out through storm and drought” is evident inthe  news.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported “10 straight months of record-setting temperatures and counting. Earth added another remarkably warm month to the year so far, with March 2024 ranking as the warmest March in the planet's climate record.”  Because of warmer oceans, forecasters predict an extremely active 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. This forecast is the most aggressive one ever issued in the 30 years that the respected the Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane forecasting team has been issuing April forecasts.  On April 10, CBS News reported “Canadian officials on Wednesday warned the country could face another catastrophic wildfire season after last year's historic fires. Smoke billowed to the U.S., blanketing portions of the East Coast and Midwest. Last June, New York City's air quality became some of the worst in the world in June as Canada's wildfire smoke blew in.” These environmental challenges inspire prayers, including those set to music, and actions.  This Tuesday, another hymn by Gillette (“We Have a Common Calling”) will be sung by over a thousand people at the National Faith + Climate Forum.

How can we help you care for God’s creation?  Drop us an email and let us know at presbyearthcare@gmail.com Help us grow! Please let us know if there is anyone we should add to our list!  Just reply to this email.  Thank you! Please help us to continue to assist individuals and churches in creation care work by donating to PEC through our website by CLICKING HERE.  Thank you!

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