Key points:
- The Council of Bishops adopted a response to the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement’s open letter asking the bishops to prioritize creation care and environmental stewardship.
- The bishops affirmed their commitment to implementing the decisions made at the 2024 General Conference, including creating Green Teams in churches, districts and conferences.
- The council also encouraged United Methodists to participate in this urgent work.
The United Methodist Church’s bishops remain committed to caring for God’s world, and they call on fellow United Methodists to join in this urgent work.
During its fall meeting on Nov. 4, the Council of Bishops adopted a response to the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement’s open letter asking the bishops to prioritize creation care and environmental stewardship.
“God promises no harm, and as people who follow the ways of God, we too are committed to do no harm to any part of God’s creation,” the bishops said in the letter.
The bishops affirmed their commitment to implementing the decisions made at the 2024 General Conference, including creating Green Teams in churches, districts and conferences. They also agreed to implement sustainable practices at annual conferences and in managing church properties, and joined the United Methodist commitment to Net Zero Green House Gas Emissions, among other actions.
In their response, the bishops also are inviting United Methodist local churches and ministries to:
- Create Green Teams in each local church/ministry;
- Organize one churchwide action around creation care at least once a year;
- Study together for deeper understanding of the work of creation care and justice; and
- Engage with partners in the Ecumenical Decade for Climate Justice Action.
“The bishops of The United Methodist Church commit to giving continued support in this endeavor to do no harm to God’s world, to continue to advocate for creation justice, and to give voice and leadership to our commitment to care for all of God’s creation,” the letter said.
The council also encouraged United Methodists to participate in this urgent work. “Together, and across the globe, United Methodists can make a difference and bring about health, sustainability and care for the garden that we were created into.”
The bishops’ response is in line with The United Methodist Church’s revised Social Principles, which reflect increased attention to creation care.
“We acknowledge that unsustainable human activities have placed the entirety of God’s creation in peril. Further, we confess that the degradation and wholesale destruction of the natural environment threatens unprecedented harm, bringing danger to human and nonhuman life alike,” the Social Principles state.
California-Pacific Conference Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank, who chairs the Council of Bishops’ Justice and Reconciliation Committee that oversaw the bishops’ creation-care response, said she is grateful for the ongoing work “to care for God’s creation in all the ways we can.”
“Our work together is what can make a difference in the future of our world. Let us be diligent in our actions and persistent in hope for all creation,” she said.
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Dwyer is news editor for UM News. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.
