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Across the country, United Churches are doing their part to address the climate crisis by getting their houses in order and reducing their own carbon emissions. Through a partnership with Faith & the Common Good, the United Church of Canada is offering grants and support for churches to measure their energy use and reduce their climate pollution, in ways that save money and strengthen congregational renewal. The initiative, called Faithful Footprints is about living climate commitments, for future generations, and for all of creation. To inspire your congregation to get involved, we have stories lined up from three participating congregations from across the country. Crescent Fort Rouge United Church, in Winnipeg, Manitoba is the first. 

As well, stay tuned for a full feature of Faithful Footprints in the February 2020 edition of the United Church of Canada’s Mandate Magazine.

Check out more inspiring stories from United Churches across Canada at Faithful Footprints Inspiration Stories.

 “We have caused a climate emergency”

This year has seen a growing number of climate emergency declarations including from 11,000 scientists, Canada, Toronto, and Pope Francis. In June and during the Season of Creation Pope Francis emphasized the need for urgent transformative action and  stated: “We have caused a climate emergency that gravely threatens nature and life itself, including our own.”

The reasons why Pope Francis declared a climate emergency include scientific warnings, the cry of the poor who face the greatest impacts of climate change while contributing the least as well as concern for future generations. In a June address, Pope Francis twice emphasized, “Our children and grandchildren should not have to pay the cost of our generation’s irresponsibility.

This past fall, during the Season of Creation, Holy Name started a Climate Action Group, where parishioners are able to discuss individual and collective action we can take to protect and care for the environment.

One of the first initiatives that came out of these conversations was the "Green Christmas" poster.

 Watch and listen to webinar 

Recapping GCCM Canada Virtual Launch “#LiveLaudatoSi Canada” Learning Webinar, October 2, 2019

“Hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor,” Pope Francis, Laudato Si’

At Faith & the Common Good, we are thrilled to extend a Catholic-specific opportunity for creation care through a new partnership with the Global Catholic Climate Movement Canada (GCCM Canada). As Pope Francis teaches in Laudato Si’, unprecedented ecological devaluing, pollution, and waste are endangering the flourishing of future generations. Moreover, the cost is being disproportionately born by vulnerable communities around the world. Catholics have been called upon by our last three popes and the Canadian bishops to respond to these social and ecological, moral and spiritual crises. We must  care for our common home in order to heal our relationships with our human family, the rest of creation, and God. GCCM Canada offers support for paths of dialogue and action to activate such multidimensional healing.  

Recapping GCCM Canada Virtual Launch “#LiveLaudatoSi Canada” Learning Webinar, October 2, 2019

“Hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor,” Pope Francis, Laudato Si’

At Faith & the Common Good, we are thrilled to extend a Catholic-specific opportunity for creation care through a new partnership with the Global Catholic Climate Movement Canada (GCCM Canada). As Pope Francis teaches in Laudato Si’, unprecedented ecological devaluing, pollution, and waste are endangering the flourishing of future generations. Moreover, the cost is being disproportionately born by vulnerable communities around the world. Catholics have been called upon by our last three popes and the Canadian bishops to respond to these social and ecological, moral and spiritual crises. We must  care for our common home in order to heal our relationships with our human family, the rest of creation, and God. GCCM Canada offers support for paths of dialogue and action to activate such multidimensional healing.  

Soil of God, You and I

It’s harvest time in Toronto after a long and beautiful growing season. At Eglinton St. George’s United Church, we’re reminded of all the growth that has taken place in our community garden with each tomato that we pick and each leaf of lettuce that we pluck.

St. Brigid’s Catholic Church has been cultivating a lighter ecological footprint for many years. 

Parishioners practice waste reduction, composting and conservation. They welcome diverse members of the neighborhood and take care of the hungry and homeless through their numerous programs. 

That’s why this inclusive, compassionate parish, situated in Toronto’s Danforth area since 1927, was selected by Faith & the Common Good (FCG) to receive a Green Sacred Spaces Award. This annual award recognizes faith groups that have achieved excellence in greening their places of worship as well as engaging the broader community in the care of the environment. 

Saskatoon, SK, 19 September 2019 -- As Christians worldwide celebrate the Season of Creation, and pray for care and renewal of our natural environment, the Catholic community in Canada is mobilizing to protect the planet by establishing a Canadian chapter of the Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM Canada).

The newly formed Canadian chapter will connect Canadian Catholics to a vibrant Global Catholic Climate Movement of 650+ Catholic member organizations, ranging from large international networks to local religious orders, plus parishes, grassroots leaders and thousands of lay Catholics, dedicated to responding to Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si’” call to take urgent action against the injustice of climate destabilization. 

“The launch of GCCM Canada is a big deal that we are proud to support,” said Lucy Cummings, Executive Director of Faith & the Common Good. “Roman Catholics are the largest religious denomination in Canada.  We need strong Canadian Catholic voices to be part of the climate conversation. We must link our faith communities together to care for and protect our common home.”

Season of Creation begins with a powerful message from Pope Francis.

"May we feel challenged to assume, with prayer and commitment, our responsibility for the care of creation. May God, “the lover of life” (Wis 11:26), grant us the courage to do good without waiting for someone else to begin, or until it is too late."

Pope Francis, Sept. 1, 2019

Check out many recently listed Toronto events inviting your participation in this Season of Creation.

Amending the Soil - Church of the Messiah Community Garden

“Amending the soil” is not a phrase I thought I’d ever repeat countless times. But at Church of the Messiah, in Toronto, we have made significant efforts to improve our soil, carrying out wheelbarrows full of gravel, garbage, and weeds, and digging in shovels full of rich organic material.

Improving the soil is one of the hardest jobs we undertake as urban gardeners. Access to our plots is restricted by stairs and busy streets, and high-quality organic soil has to be carried and dug in by hand. But the effort to improve our gardening soil is worth it because this is one of the most consequential chores we can do. Boosting the quality of the soil with organic material and better drainage helps everything we grow reach its strongest and most productive potential.