Our ministry mission states that “we serve as a catalyst for care of God’s creation and commitment to its related justice work, which includes environmental justice, climate justice, creation justice, and racial justice”.

This work points us toward people who live in frontline and fenceline communities, as well as to those people most vulnerable to natural disasters, environmental degradation, and the transition away from fossil-fuel related industries.

Our ministry currently accepts the meaning of the following terms to describe the justice work to which we are committing ourselves:

Creation Justice – “Creation justice” may be a new term for some, but it is a concept deeply grounded in Christian theology and practice. It captures both the depth of our interconnectedness with everything and the necessity to partner with God in the healing and restoration of all—God’s Shalom….Using the term “creation” instead of “eco”, “nature” or “environment” demonstrates that we are intimately part of the created order, and constantly working alongside our Creator to redeem and sustain it. When we say Creation, we mean all Creation—justice for God’s people and God’s planet. Seeing the world as Creation is a radical act that counters modern notions of nature as either a resource to be exploited or as something entirely separate from humanity.

Bigelow, K. and Lamb, A. (2021, September 1). What is Creation Justice?. Creation Justice Ministries. https://www.creationjustice.org/blog/what-is-creation-justice8447419?eType=EmailBlastContent&264e7abb14e6eId=3c7b1de7-7607-4c2f-91f8- 

Climate Justice —  “Climate justice” is a term, and more than that a movement, that acknowledges climate change can have differing social, economic, public health, and other adverse impacts on underprivileged populations. Advocates for climate justice are striving to have these inequities addressed head-on through long-term mitigation and adaptation strategies.  

Simmons, D. (2020, July 9). What is ‘climate justice’?. Yale Climate Connections.https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/07/what-is-climate-justice

Environmental Justice – Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. This goal will be achieved when everyone enjoys:

• The same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards, and
• Equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2021, September 8). Environmental Justice. https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice 

Racial Justice – Racial justice is the systematic fair treatment of people of all races that results in equitable opportunities and outcomes for everyone. All people are able to achieve their full potential in life, regardless of race, ethnicity or the community in which they live….A “racial justice” framework can move us from a reactive posture to a more powerful, proactive and even preventive approach.

Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2021, April 14, last updated). Equity vs. Equality and Other Racial Justice Definitions. https://www.aecf.org/blog/racial-justice-definitions  

Frontline communities are those that experience “first and worst” the consequences of climate change. These are communities of color and low-income, whose neighborhoods often lack basic infrastructure to support them and who will be increasingly vulnerable as our climate deteriorates. These are Native communities, whose resources have been exploited, and laborers whose daily work or living environments are polluted or toxic. 

Centering frontline communities. (n.d.) Ecotrust.org. Retrieved October 15, 2021, fromhttps://ecotrust.org/centering-frontline-communities/  

A fenceline community is a neighborhood that is immediately adjacent to a company and is directly affected by the noise, odors, chemical emissions, traffic, parking, and operations of the company.[1][2]

Fenceline communities in the United States that are next to plants that emit hazardous waste are disproportionately inhabited by people of color and the working poor.[3][4][5] An example of a fenceline community is the African American Diamond community in Norco, Louisiana. This community lived on the fenceline of a Shell plant. [6]

These groups of people are vulnerable communities who “fear that it may jeopardize jobs and economic survival” to organize to reduce their exposure to hazardous waste.”[7] Additionally, residents in fenceline communities are often unable to relocate. This is because the large industries that have established themselves adjacent to the residential communities often produce effects that dramatically lower the property value of the homes in the communities. Therefore, residents are unable to sell their homes for a value that would be high enough for them to purchase property elsewhere.[8]

Fenceline community. (2021, March). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fenceline_community&oldid=1014635066 

Climate migration refers to “the movement of a person or groups of persons who, predominantly for reasons of sudden or progressive change in the environment due to climate change, are obliged to leave their habitual place of residence, or choose to do so, either temporarily or permanently, within a State or across an international border” (IOM, 2019). Climate migration is thus a subcategory of environmental migration;

Environmental change and disasters have always been major drivers of migration. However, climate change predictions for the 21st century indicate that even more people are expected to be on the move as extreme weather-related events, such as floods, droughts and storms become more frequent and intense (IPCC, 2014), and changes in precipitation and temperature patterns  impact livelihoods and human security.

International Organization for Migration. (n.d.) Environmental Migration. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from https://environmentalmigration.iom.int/environmental-migration-1