Creation Care Alliance of Western North Carolina
Service
The Creation Care Alliance of Western North Carolina (CCA) aims to bring together morally-driven citizens and organizations, whether they are clergy, congregations, people of faith, or other community members, to support and expand our creation care efforts through inspiration, education, service, and advocacy.
We seek to live out a life of service where we find joy in caring for our neighbors and creation. CCA supports the service activities already being expressed in local congregations and communities. We also offer and coordinate service opportunities such as the Youth Service Learning day called Mission: Earth as well as non-native invasive plant removals, community garden improvements, planting live stakes along rivers to prevent sediment erosion, and more. We advertise our upcoming service workdays on our event calendar and we hope you’ll take a look and see if you are available to join us soon to live out our faith by giving back to our community and helping steward creation.
Inspiration
The Creation Care Alliance of Western North Carolina aims to bring together morally-driven citizens and organizations, whether they are clergy, congregations, people of faith, or other community members, to support and expand our creation care efforts through inspiration, education, service, and advocacy.
By coming together to experience gratitude, hope, and awe at the wonders of God’s creation we aim to inspire our supporters to take action to fight the injustices done to it. We have helped lead our annual Earth Day Vigil, a Paris Climate Talks prayer walk along the French Broad River, spiritually centered hikes, and book studies that have grown the heart and mind. We find that our spiritual lives and the people and creatures are connected in deep ways and are able to find resilience in the joy and gratitude of encountering the Sacred in nature and within one another.
Asheville Citizen Times: In The Mountains, Environmentalism Isn’t Partisan
Environmental concern crosses economic, political and religious lines as explored by this Asheville Citizen-Times editorial reflecting on The Climate March and March for Science of 2018. Read More
Asheville Faith Congregations Are Going Green
Recently, the Creation Care Alliance and member groups were featured in the Asheville Citizen-Times in an article titled “Asheville Faith Congregations Are Going Green.”
Read More
The Spirituality of Climate Action with Tim DeChristopher
On November 7, 2016 we gathered in a circle at the Asheville Quaker Meeting house to hear music and stories of hope and courage. Tim DeChristopher shared about his work resisting climate change by bringing a faith-filled voice to activism and activism to faith communities. DeChristopher is a climate activist who spent twenty one months in prison in 2008 after interrupting a Bush era oil and drilling auction with a spontaneous act of courage and civil disobedience. Read More
Letter to the Editor: Candidates Should Care For Our People And Planet
Rabbi Justin Goldstein of Congregation Beth Israel, Reverend Thomas Murphy of the Cathedral of All Souls, and Scott Hardin-Nieri jointly submitted a letter to the Asheville Citizen Times to present a united front ahead of the 2016 presidential election. They speak concisely and powerfully on behalf of our children and creation.
Meditation on Creation Care by Maureen Linneman
This reflection can be accompanied by subjects of the season such as flowers, feathers, etc. and by lighting a candle to symbolize Presence and Light.
- Eyes can be closed,
- feet grounded on the floor,
- grounded in the mission to be a voice on behalf of God’s Creation and our neighbors harmed by environmental injustices
SILENT MYSTERY IN AND AROUND US,
SPIRIT IN ALL OF CREATION,
WE GATHER HERE TO GIVE THANKS FOR THE BEAUTY OF SPRING IN THESE SACRED MOUNTAINS;
TO CELEBRATE WHAT SO MANY ARE DOING FOR CREATION IN THEIR PLACES OF WORSHIP AND SPIRITUAL CENTERS.
WE GATHER TO DESIGN, TO CO-CREATE , TO SPEAK AND TO ACT IN NEW WAYS WAYS THAT WILL PROTECT THE NATURAL WORLD FROM THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND OVERCONSUMPTION,
AS WE RESPOND TO OUR CALLING TO CARE FOR CREATION.
WE ARE THANKFUL FOR OUR LIVES AND THE BLESSINGS WE RECEIVE FROM MOTHER EARTH
AND, WE ASK FOR WISDOM IN ALL OUR ENDEAVORS.
AMEN, AH HO
Creation Care Alliance featured on radio WPVM
In May of 2016, the director of CCA, Reverend Scott Hardin-Nieri along with CCA steering committee members Rabbi Justin Goldstein of Congregation Beth Israel and Maureen Linneman from Jubilee! Community Church joined McNair Ezzard in the studio to tell their personal stories and why they are involved with the Creation Care Alliance.
Give a listen by following this link and then scrolling way down the page to Show #6.
