Earth Day is coming, and with it, Evangelical Environmental Network’s now annual film festival. This event will be held online and will feature the film Virginia’s Calling, a documentary by Barry Lyons and Linda Nieman.

In the film, a homeschooling mom’s picture-perfect life is shattered when her home floods. Just as she hits rock-bottom, an unlikely spiritual guide appears. A warm, intimate portrait of a strong and determined woman of faith, Virginia’s Calling offers a sensitive look into the human effects of climate change on an evangelical family that never thought it would affect them.

After the screening of the film, we will have a live panel and Q&A with the protagonist of the film, Virginia herself, as well as producers Barry and Linda. 

You can register for the event here. (21 April 7 pm US Eastern Time)

Earth Day 2021 will again be a virtual, online event on 22 April. We are informed that the folks at Earthday.org would very much like to include faith communities around the world in this year’s celebration.

To that end, there is a Faith and the Environment page at Earthday.org with a good list of resources. Check it out.

Since the first Earth Day in 1970, incredible environmental goals have been achieved, thanks largely to efforts by people of faith. The global faith community is a critical voice in overcoming obstacles and integrating environmental issues into political, social and economic agendas.

The theme for Earth Day 2021 is Restore Our Earth, which focuses on natural processes and emerging green technologies that can restore harmony with the world’s ecosystems. Join Earth Day 2021 and help us Restore Our Earth, not just because we care about the natural world, but because we are a part of it as well.

InterFaith Power and Light is offering a free kit of materials for congregations to use in celebrating Earth Day. Some of these materials will be North America specific, but others might find useful ideas here*.

Faith Climate Action Week is Interfaith Power & Light’s annual program of climate-themed worship services and sermons that spans ten days of activities around Earth Day. This year’s dates are April 16-25. Join the community of people of faith preaching, teaching, and acting to heal the climate in 2021! 

Congregations across the nation are using these kits to plan their Earth Month activities.

The theme of this year’s Faith Climate Action Week is “Sacred Ground: Cultivating Connections Between our Faith, our Food, and the Climate.” We will examine how our food systems contribute to injustice and to climate change, and how our faith traditions call us to respond with practical solutions.

Download the kit here.

The kit includes a Sacred Ground Guide, with information on how the ways in which we grow our food can be part of the climate solution and also bring about a more just community. In the kit there are faith-based discussion materials; suggested short films; a Garden Blessing ceremony; and suggestions and resources for how to get engaged in supporting food justice and healthy soil.  Also included are an updated Climate Change Fact Sheet and advocacy postcards addressed to the Secretary of Agriculture. Consider printing and slipping them into your congregation’s mailings.

Faith Climate Action Week 2021 offerings on our website also include sample sermons and talks, and resources for worship services.

Pin your Covid-safe in-person and online Faith Climate Action Week events on the IPL map to show the world that people of faith are leading the climate movement! 

*LWCCN and The Pollinator provide links to materials like this without necessarily endorsing the content therein. Readers should review any material for appropriateness for their local situation.

You can find a recap of the day’s highlights here, with links to messages from Pope Francis, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and others, as well as suggestions for how you can continue in the spirit of Earth Day.

Earth Day 50 will a global event. We’re hoping to see LWCCN members in at least 50 countries joining their communities on that day, celebrating and working to bring restoration and healing to our parts of God’s creation, wherever we happen to live.

In the US, there will be a massive demonstration in Washington DC, and additional LWCCN activities surrounding that. Look for more details in our next newsletter. If you want to get a head start, contact us for ideas and suggestions.