Join us in our discernment as we consider whether the United Church of Gainesville should become a Creation Justice Church. This eight month process will help us to clarify and unify our vision for UCG. The designation to become a Creation Justice congregation is a title bestowed by our denomination to those congregations that have thoughtfully considered how their hopes to be earth-stewards will be manifest in their mission.

People have already said, “this aligns with our values, can’t we just SAY we’re a CJC Congregation and get on with it?” Yes, we could, but to do so without a proper time of discernment would short shrift our ultimate goal, which is not for a fancy new title, but is instead to incorporate creation care into all of our daily lives and the decisions we make as a congregation. It is an important part of the fabric of who we are as a congregation that we allow the conversations and considerations to grow and to flourish, with the belief that we will come to a spirit-led decision that will strengthen our faith, community, and individual lives. 

Here is how our process will work: Every two months, the Creation Care Climate Justice (C3J) Task Force will offer one or two questions for your consideration. We will provide multiple venues to share and discuss our responses to these questions, all with an attentive eye to how we can incorporate our learnings into our life as a congregation. At the end of April 2023, the C3J will present a Creation Justice Covenant to the congregation, based on our shared learnings and commitments. We will then present our newly formed covenant for a vote at our Spring Congregational Meeting.,

As we present our questions, please consider them in your own life and home. Please consider how your Board or Committee can incorporate C3J into your work. And please consider how we as a congregation can fully live into our call to be good stewards of our earth. And share your thoughts and opinions with the rest of us! Be open to the challenge and inspiration that will surely come, remembering that we are all striving to be a better community than we were when we began. 

 The questions we ask you to consider this month are:

•         How can our Congregation reflect upon God in relationship to caring for creation?
•         How can we bring theological understandings of creation care and justice into our working lives and our worship services?

 There will be a seminar to share your thoughts and our learnings on September 25.

Please join that conversation, and email us at c3j@ucgainesville.org. Read more about the UCC process here