After our congregational vote at the May congregational meeting that affirmed our desire to adopt a Creation Care and Climate Justice statement, members of the C3J Task Force worked together to craft an application to the United Church of Christ, our parent denomination, to be officially recognized as a Creation Justice congregation.

As part of our application, we articulated the congregational discernment and learning process of the last year and listed a number of activities through which UCG has taken up the cause of environmental justice – from children’s programming through regular movie nights.

In mid-July, we were pleased to receive official acceptance of our application and designation from Rev. Brooks Berndt, the Minister for Environmental Justice for the UCC. The Rev. Berndt noted with delight all the work we have already done and will continue to do, highlighting in particular the upcoming Climate Summit in September.

We have been presented with a banner to mark this new commitment our congregation has made. We plan to officially share it in our Gathering of Waters service on August 16, but here is a preview!