Getting Ready For Earth Day – Resources to Consider for 2023

by Christine Sine –

Earth day, one of my favourite celebrations, is April 22nd 2023. It is the 53rd Anniversary so I thought it was time to remind you of some of the resources that we make available through Godspace each year.

• Our free resource, Creating a Faith-Based Community Garden, is full of links, liturgies and ideas for creating both your personal garden and a faith-based garden in your community or church. We also post additional resources regularly on the Facebook page, To Garden with God and I highly recommend this wonderful garden reflection from colleague, Andy Wade.
• Circlewood offers a variety of resources for your Earth Day experience. Whether you listen to their Earthkeepers podcast or read their blog/newsletter articles through The Ecological Disciple, you will be immersed in the connection between Creator God and the created world.
• The official Earth Day website shares opportunities to get involved either in person or online with others that are celebrating Earth Day. The theme for 2023 is “Invest in Our Planet”.
• Nurya Love Parish has put together an excellent resource entitled The Christian Food Movement.
• A Rocha Canada, once again invites us to celebrate Good Seed Sunday with them.
• Let All Creation Praise has links to a number of great resources.
• Australian Religious Response to Climate Change is a multi-faith network committed to action on climate change and offers Climate Action Kits in five different religions: Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, and Jewish. They are available as a free download.
• GreenFaith offers resources including multi-faith eco-spirituality prayers, liturgies and music that would be a great addition to your Earth Day celebration.
• Check out the detail from Blessed Tomorrow’s Carbon Offset Program and see if your house of worship would consider participating.
• Blessed Earth posted downloadable tip sheets for better stewardship and creation care for Earth Day and other various areas of life.
• National Religious Coalition on Creation Care‘s resource list is worth looking over as it contains literature, prayers, and other resources on Climate, Energy, Forests, etc.
• Green heart education has some good Earth day prayers from different religious perspectives.
• The Green Good News share insights on how to “integrate sustainable living and Christian discipleship”. Check out their local initiatives page for ideas to implement in your neighborhood and church.
• Interested in a free, downloadable one-hour program for Earth Day? Catholic Climate Covenant has what you are looking for.
• A local Seattle group called Earth Ministry offers resources for Earth Day as well as other holidays too.
• #CareForCreation started by Creation Justice Ministries is a great way to share on social media and link with others who are advocating for creation care. Consider sharing this list of 52 Ways to Care for Creation for Earth Day.
• Creation Justice Ministries has a wonderful resource centre. with resources on many aspects of creation care including bible studies, liturgies, information sheets and much more.
• Interfaith Power & Light has many resources available including a list of Climate Prayers and Sample Sermons.
• Young Evangelicals for Social Action an organization that exists to equip, empower, and catalyze young Christians to love God and love our neighbors through bold, wholehearted, and faithful climate action in our church and community in order to create a more just, equitable, and loving world. They are well worth supporting and joining.
• The Green-Changemaker Challenge is an exciting competition, a collaboration between Ashoka and HSBC, This global innovation challenge is open to changemakers with solutions that are equipping others with the mindset and capabilities to contribute towards building a sustainable and equitable world.

A Few Books to Read

The list became too long so we made it into another post: A Prayer and My Favorite Books for Earth Day, please have a look as this list keeps growing.

It is impossible for me to list all the books that make good reading for Earth Day from a faith perspective.

Resources for Kids

Check out our resource page for celebrating Earth day with kids!

Godspace Resources

Earth Day Resources on Godspace:

Here is a compilation of all the resources posted for Earth Day over the last few years:

• Getting Ready for Earth Day – Resources for Kids
• Earth Day in the Neighborhood – Top 10 Ideas
• Time to Love and “Restore Our Earth” by Lisa DeRosa
• Celebrating Earth Day 50! by Tom Sine
• Native American Prayers for Earth Day
• Celebrate with All Creation
• Earth Day Prayers from 2015
• Garden Blessing for Earth Day
• A Garden blessing for Earth Day 2013
• Earth Day Liturgy

And my favourite Garden liturgy which includes the responsive reading below.

Adapted from Ps 65:5-12
God you call forth songs of joy from all the earth
You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,
God our Saviour you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
You are the hope of the farthest seas,
When morning dawns and evening fades
You call forth songs of joy
God you call forth songs of joy from all the earth
You care for the land and water it;
You enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
To provide the people with grain,
For so you have ordained it.
God you call forth songs of joy from all the earth
You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
You soften it with showers and bless its crops.
You crown the year with your bounty,
And your carts overflow with abundance.
God you call forth songs of joy from all the earth
The grasslands of the deserts overflow;
The hills are clothed with gladness.
The meadows are covered with flocks
And the valleys are mantled with grain;
They shout for joy and sing
God you call forth songs of joy from all the earth

Check out all our earth day and garden liturgies and prayers on our Creation Spirituality page.