• Come to terms with the serious and urgent needs of our planet, the increasing effects of climate change on ecosystems and all aspects of our lives, and then consider the faithful responses we are called to make for the future of God’s creation and well-being for all peoples.
• Seek out the stories of people and communities who have been negatively affected by policies and practices which polluted their air, or nearby land or water.
• Create a creation care team in your local church.
• Develop a cooperative creation care ministry of neighboring area churches, staying connected to the conference creation care ministry team for support and exchange of ideas. ([email protected]).
• Re-think your missional goals:  integrate creation care and creation justice into all aspects of your ministry.
• Establish in your congregation an annual Creation Care Sunday near the time of Earth Day in April or a month of creation care focused teaching, projects and worship themes.

Use these Resources to inform what increased energy efficiency might look like for your church building(s):

1) Greening Houses of Worship, pdf. (Tennessee InterFaith Power & Light, 2016)

2) Energy and Water Efficiency Checklist for Worship Facilities, ( pdf.,10 pp.;  Energy Star and United Women in Faith)

3) Many congregations are blessed to have the expertise of Trustees or members who are facility managers, electrical or mechanical engineers, electricial and HVAC professionals.  If your church is not among them, seek assistance from such a person in your community or from your utility company or electric coop.

4) Request a “walk through” assessment of your facility. Compared to most residential homes, church buildings present unique challenges in balancing energy use (e.g. wide variations in the extent that areas of the building are used during the week, needing to power everything up for Sunday mornings, special requirements of sanctuaries with organs or other musical instruments, etc.). Yet many churches do not need a formal energy audit to get started.

5) Consider applying for a small grant (up to $500) from the TWK Creation Care Ministry Project Fund to offset a portion of any upgrading costs.

Why does this matter?

1) In 2022, direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from homes and businesses accounted for 31% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Direct emissions from commercial and residential were 13% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022.

The residential and commercial sectors include all homes and commercial businesses (excluding agricultural and industrial activities). Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector come from direct emissions including fossil fuel combustion for heating and cooking needs, management of waste and wastewater, and leaks from refrigerants in homes and businesses, as well as indirect emissions from the use of electricity by homes and businesses (e.g., heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; lighting; and appliances, and plug loads). The building sector uses 75% of the electricity generated in the US.¹ Commercial and Residential Sector Emissions (EPA.gov.org, last updated March 2025)

2)  While the transition to a solar/storage or geothermal energy source may be a distant goal for your church facilities, renewable energy companies highly recommend that the first step in such a process is attaining a significant degree of energy efficiency for the existing buildings.

Examples of Land Use Projects:

Create outdoor green spaces for walking and prayer

Protect & properly prune established trees

Remove invasive plants, shrubs, and trees

Replace or plant new trees and shrubs with native species.

Plant gardens — large and small: food gardens, rain gardens, pollinator gardens

Restore stream beds or buffer stream edges

Clean litter from streams and creeks

Hang bird houses and butterfly hotels

Rethink pesticide and insecticide use

Consider ways to decrease stormwater runoff, decreased pavement surfaces

Lease land to local farmers

Parking lots: Host a farmers market 

         For churches with little land: support public gardens, parks and green spaces in your area.

Why does this matter?

In our country, the number of acres of land that are owned and managed by houses of worship is significant. The way we use our land becomes a witness to the community.

Projects that establish gardens or well-placed trees and shrubs (especially those native to ones region), that restore littered streams and eroded banks, and that reduce storm water runnoff from urban streets and rural fields have the ability to —

enhance the quality of local drinking water, support the natural work of pollinator insects, filter air and water pollution, decrease the impact of flash flooding, support water conservation in times of drought, control soil erosion, restore habitats and biodiversity, contribute to shade and cooler temperatures, and improve the mental and physical health of the people in that community.

As an illustration, see also:  The Healing Power of Trees. (The Nature Conservancy, February 2025)

Community organizations that serve as direct resources to the public:

Tennessee Environmental Council  (Direct assistance with pollinator gardens, stream cleaning projects, and planting native trees – as well as recycling difficult waste items)

Cumberland River Compact   (Guide rural and urban projects that conserve soil, habitats, and water quality; includes establishing rain gardens and reducing stormwater runoff.)

Nashville Tree Foundation  (Focus on replacing trees lost to age, storms and development as well as building tree canopy in under-served communities)

Harpeth River Conservancy (Dedicated to restoring and protecting water quality and ecosystem health in Tennessee rivers and to protecting rural land).

Tennessee Smart Yards  ( UT-TSU Extension-led program that guides Tennesseans on practices they can apply in their outdoor spaces to create healthier, more ecologically-sound landscapes and communities.)

How-to Information:

Church Gardening Resource Book (Berbiglia, J. for [Legacy] TN Conference UMC.  (2003)

Gardening Stories From Across the UMC Connection (Church gardens)

Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Backyard Wildlife, Expanded Second Edition, by David Mizejewski (National Wildlife Federation, paperback, 163 pp.) Very helpful illustrations and photographs. 

Plant the Right Tree in the Right Place  (Tennessee Environmental Council, November 2020. pdf. 6 pp)

How to Plant a Tree (8 min video presented by The Metro Nashville Tree Advisory Committee – very helpful!)

The Tennessee Yardstick Workbook: Smart Yards pdf

Tennessee Urban Riparian [stream bank] Buffer Handbook  (TN Department of Agriculture & Forestry, pdf) 

Rain Gardens for Nashville:  A Resource Guide for Planning, Designing and Maintaining a Beautiful Rain Garden  (Comprehensive, helpful charts and illustrations; pdf, 18 pp. The content is applicable to areas well beyond Nashville or middle TN.)

Generate Some Buzz   (TN Environmental Council — Pollinator gardens)

Your Backyard Pollinator Garden Handbook /updated.  (Tennessee Environmental Council)

Homegrown National Park   (movement dedicated to planting native plants)

1) Regardless of the name you use, forming a group of people in your congregation who wish to work together to care for the earth and face the justice issues related to creation care is an important action.  Below are three resources worth looking at.

2) We also encourage you to contact our TWK Creation Care Ministry team with your questions ([email protected]). We love hearing from you, and we may have suggestions, but we understand that each church finds itself in a unique setting. We can connect you with other churches who have established such teams in ways that meeting their needs.

How to Start a Conference-Level Creation Care and Justice Team in Your Annual Conference. (May 2025. umcreationjustice.org)

Green Team Formation  (This video walks you through the 2023 TWK Conference Resolution.  10 min)

Your Green Team pdf  (Creation Justice Tips, 2023)

How to Start a Conference-Level Creation Care and Justice Team in Your Annual Conference. (May 2025. umcreationjustice.org)

While our conference already has a conference-level creation care team, this article provides considerations and ideas that will be helpful at the local level as well.

In regard to consumer waste production, the long term goal for our society and for the world should be to transition to a circular economy.

“Circular economy refers to models of production and consumption that minimize waste and reduce pollution, promote sustainable uses of natural resources, and help regenerate nature.  Currently, only 7.2 percent of used materials are cycled back into our economies after use. This has a significant burden on the environment and contributes to the climate, biodiversity, and pollution crises. As a result, we currently need about 1.7 Earths to deliver on all the world’s resource demands.”     (The Climate Dictionary. climatepromise.undp.org)

Why This Matters:

1) We can not recycle our way out of our plastic pollution problem.  Less than 10% of plastics are effectively recycled and most end up in the land fills or waterways and soil.  Plastics do not break down (degrade) but they break apart into smaller and smaller pieces. Microplastics end up everywhere: waterways, soil, fish, animals, food, and our bodies. 

Single-use Plastics 101.  (Natural Resources Defense Council, April 2024) 

2) Our landfills are becoming full. Food and other organic waste makes up a significant proportion of the volume in landfills (almost 1/4 in TN), and it emits methane gas into the atmostphere. Methane is a “greenhouse” gas that is more potent in its heat trapping properties than carbon dioxide.

Food Waste and Methane: What’s the Connection? pdf. (April 2024. USDA and EPA)

The Methane Impact of Food Loss and Waste in the United States. (October 2024. reFED.org)

4) Many of our communities lack convenient access to recycling services, and most TN communities lack access to any commercial composting facilities.

5) As consumers we find ourselves with relatively few options in determining the materials that our products are made from, how they are packaged, how they are eventually disposed of, and/or what is even available to buy in the stores where we live.  One example lies with the clothes we buy and then discard or give away.

What Really Happens to Unwanted Clothes? (2024. greenamerica.org)

Actions We Can Take Now:

1) Rethink our habits of consuming and purchasing.  Consider reusing some items, sharing them, donating them, buying second hand.  Consider saving leftover food or distributing it after a church meal to a homebound member or a nonprofit group  — on a regular basis.

Go Zero Waste  (Tennessee Environmental Council).  This presents many options. Pick what works for you.

Guide to Green Shopping

2) Know the recycling availabilites in your area.  Understand the realistic problems inherent in the current system, and then be diligent to recycle what is possible: notably plastic water bottles, aluminum cans, clean paper and cardboard.

Chasing Arrows: The Truth About Recycling (10 min YouTube video) Very helpful!

3) Rethink church meals and fellowship events:  stop serving single-use bottled water, consider moving away from disposable plates, cups and utensils (or at least some of those items). When possible, use and wash pemanent ones.  Encourage church members to bring their own water or beverage bottles to these events, leaving other options for guests.

5) Consider composting on your church property. Even a small operation of raked leaves, grass cuttings, and coffee grounds from fellowship events or AA meetings will decrease landfill debris, and produce some nice soil additives. For a large event (like Annual Conference or a food fundraiser), you may want to research the use of commercial composting.

Come, Compost Your Compost: The Guide. pdf.  (2025. Tennessee Environmental Council)

Composting Resources for Businesses. (Tennessee Environmental Council)

6) If purchasing disposables that you intend to compost, search out the brand and look for the certified logo.  Especially with cups, as almost all are manufactured with a very thin inner plastic lining.  Compostable paper plates and bowls are much easier to find in many stores, and not all items listed compostable are able to be broken down in home compost bins.

Compostable Certifications – Why Do They Matter?

7) Rethink your purchasing of kitchen and restroom paper products.  Seek out the brands that incorporate a large portion of recycled paper and cardboard in the final product.

The Issue with Tissue. (NRDC.org. September 2021)  New Report Uncovers Dirty Truth about Beloved Toilet Paper Brands.  (thecooldown.com. October 5, 2023) Encourages us to purchase paper products made from recycled paper rather than trees. Contains helpful consumer information.

8) Be creative in finding ways to engage church members in taking the food scraps or recycled cans to their homes compost bins or a county convenience center periodically.  Fresh food scraps can be frozen in bags until ready to be composted elseswhere.

9) Plan ahead to make those treasured church events (Easter Egg Hunt and Vacation Bible School snacks and crafts) less plastic/ disposable dependent. This is clearly a teaching opportunity for our children and their families, modeling different ways of doing things!

East End Easter Egg Hunt

10) Be aware that there may be special annual recycling events in your area, giving your members the opportunity to recycle items not usually recycled (prescription medicines, mattresses, electronics, unused clothes or sewing/ craft materials, shoes, etc).  See the 2025 schedule for Tennessee Environmental Council Round Ups:

Recycling Roundups: Tennessee Environmental Council  (These are statewide events, watch for one near you!)

Your congregation may wish to organize such a recycling event with other churches/ organizations in your area.  If so, contact TWK Creation Care Ministry for information and practical guidelines ([email protected]).

11) Speak positivley of the new ways that your congreation is doing things and be inspired by stories of others.

What Can We Learn from a Fourth Grader: A Student’s School Assignment Leads to Food Waste Reduction Practice at West Meade Elementary School in Nashville.  (November-December 2022. TennesSierran. sierraclub.org)

Please see LEARNING page; Best Practices for Individuals & Families

Please See our Advocacy page.