Water and Sustainable Development 

Water is at the core of sustainable development. Water resources, and the range of services they provide, underpin poverty reduction, economic growth and environmental sustainability. From food and energy security to human and environmental health, water contributes to improvements in social well-being and inclusive growth, affecting the livelihoods of billions.

In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly designated March 22nd as the first World Water Day, a day to celebrate water and to raise awareness for the members of the global population who suffer from water related issues. Click Here to learn about water's role in sustainable development. On March 22nd wear blue, give thanks for clean water and pray for all who do not have it.

Click Here for Water Conservation Tips from National Geographic. 

A Message from the U.N. Secretary-General

Water is at the core of sustainable development.

Climate change driven in great part by the unsustainable use of energy will exacerbate water stress and scarcity in many regions. Efforts to provide universal access to water and energy will be undermined if the current warming trend continues.

On World Water Day, let us pledge to develop the policies needed to ensure that sustainable water and energy are secured for the many and not just the few.

Ban Ki-moon 

 The Future of Water  

Earth Day is April 22nd and Earth Sunday can be celebrated either April 19th or 26th. This year Creation Justice Ministries selected the theme Sustainable Food in a Changing Climate to explore the relationship between climate change and the food that we eat. Rev. Carol Devine (Green Chalice) and Rev. Rebecca Barnes (PC USA) worked together to write, compile and edit an expanded resource for 2015 that includes a children's sermon, children, youth and adult education materials, a prayer station and more. 

The resource is now available for download. It is a great resource for Sunday School teachers, worship leaders, youth directors and ministers. Download your copy now!

There's an old African proverb that says, "If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others."

Forming a creation care committee within your congregation may be the single most important step you can take to have a sustained and lasting impact. Not only will this group serve as a source of inspiration and ideas, it will also provide an invaluable network of advice and support should you experience any bumps along the way. Blessed Tomorrow has a number of resources to help lay this cornerstone and tips on how to make sure it succeeds once it's up and running.

Blessed Tomorrow

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.

Thomas Merton

This summer Pope Francis is expected to issue a rare Papal Encyclical on the environment in which he is expected to declare climate action a moral imperative for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. The encyclical - or "papal letter" - will be the first in the church's history that addresses environmental issues specifically. 

The Pope will seek to bring the "warmth of hope" to the wider debates on climate change and development, he said, while steering a path away from the "Herods" and "omens of destruction and death.

"For the Christian, to care for God's ongoing work of creation is a duty, irrespective of the causes of climate change. To care for creation, to develop and live an integral ecology as the basis for development and peace in the world, is a fundamental Christian duty." As Pope Francis put it in his morning homily at Santa Marta on 9 February, it is wrong and a distraction to contrast "green" and "Christian." "In fact, "a Christian who doesn't safeguard creation, who doesn't make it flourish, is a Christian who isn't concerned with God's work, that work born of God's love for us."

STEPS: 

1. Have an active Green Team.

2. Sign the Alverna Covenant as a team or as a congregation. 

3. Make at least 3 changes that demonstrate your congregation's commitment to caring for God's creation. 

THEN e-mail the following information :  

1. Congregation name, City, State, address and phone number; 

2. the date the Alverna Covenant was signed;

3. and the changes made by your congregation to walk more gently on God's creation.

National Religious Partnership for the Environment invites us to add our names to a petition. Call on our political leaders to craft a moral global framework for the UN climate negotiations that will culminate in Paris 2015. Click here to sign the petition. Select "Disciples of Christ" as your religious affiliation. 

Scott lives in Asheville North Carolina where he works for Creation Care Alliance of Western North Carolina, a network of faith communities bringing practical and hopeful solutions by engaging hearts and minds through education, service & advocacy. Their work is an expression of their love of God & creation. Email Scott