Earth Day Letter

Earth Day is Every Day 2026 Statement 

by the Green Caucus of The Episcopal Church

This Earth Day, the Green Caucus again celebrates the actions the Episcopal Church has taken for over 50 years to preserve and protect God’s Creation. We note the many ways Creation Care intersects with our concerns for global security, migration justice, and racial equity — and offers new possibilities for evangelism. And we urge you, in your positions of leadership, to further prioritize our sacred responsibility to love all our neighbors as ourselves through caring for Creation in all ways.

Our faith compels us to be in relationship with creation and to work for healing when that relationship is imbalanced. This call is made all the more resounding in the context of record floods, fires, storm events, and mounting temperatures. We focus this letter on our responsibility as a church to address climate change, which threatens all life as we know it, both human and non-human.

Looking over the past twelve months of the Church’s ministry, we see so many areas of hope and action. We also see areas where progress has stalled. We are encouraged by the:

• Appointment of Rev. Lester V. Mackenzie as Chief of Mission Program, including Creation Care

• Support for a monthly Creation Care compline

• Facilitation of monthly Creation Care calls

• Deepened engagement of the Office of Government Relations with environmental concerns

• Establishment of a network of Eco-Regions to support localized Creation Care ministries

In particular, we are confident that the work of the Eco-Regions will deepen church-wide recognition that our ecological crisis is also a spiritual one and that we must re-center our understanding of the sacredness of Creation if we are to live differently on this Earth.

In response to this spiritual and ecological crisis, the Episcopal Church, as owners of buildings and users of transportation, must address our own contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and further the transition to renewable energy. Yet in this critical endeavor, we are concerned about inconsistent action and limited resourcing.

Key examples include the following:

Staffing of TEC Office of Creation Care. We appreciate the TEC staffers from various departments who have facilitated the continuation of Creation Care ministry. The Office of Creation Care itself, however, remains unstaffed. This means that critical processes, materials, and support for key resolutions remain unfulfilled. 

Formation of Creation Care interim body. We are concerned by a lack of updates on the Creation Care interim body and whether it has been set up for success for the remainder of this triennium.

Full implementation of 2024-B002. Resolution 2024-B002 calls for the creation of two kinds of networks to carry out the church’s work of climate justice: 1) Eco-Regions, discussed above; and 2) a Renewable Energy Network to connect and provide resources to “dioceses, faith communities, projects and leaders dedicated to reducing carbon by accelerating renewable energy use.” 

The Green Caucus wishes to highlight the parts of B002 that call for the creation of a Renewable Energy Network. We believe such a network would be transformational, supporting dioceses in sharing resources, maximizing efficiency, and helping to empower the work of the other resolutions that create pathways to net carbon neutrality and to zero emissions. Our sincere hope and call is that church leadership will support the functions of a Renewable Energy Network as a meaningful and collaborative response to grave climate concerns.

Support for pathways to net carbon neutrality and to zero emissions (2022-A087, 2024-A098, 2024-D050). Two resolutions provide workable pathways to reducing GHG emissions in church buildings and transportation. Resolution 2022-A087, “Commit to Net Carbon Neutrality by 2030,” calls on all Episcopal Church dioceses, parishes, and institutions to bring their use of fossil fuels to net carbon neutrality by 2030. Resolution A098, “Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation,” calls on dioceses, parishes, and institutions to eliminate fossil fuel use in buildings and transportation entirely by 2034. A098 additionally calls on all entities to divest funds from fossil fuels. 

Together these resolutions give churches a choice in deciding which pathway is best for them. Each calls for needed processes and supports; each requires staffing at TEC level for planning, implementation, and accountability; and each requires funding to help parishes make this difficult transition. These supports could be combined and streamlined. 

With staffing at the Care of Creation office in transition, we fear progress on these critical initiatives passed at General Convention will be inhibited.

Additionally, delegates at the 81st General Convention approved funds to aid the transition to carbon neutrality (2024-D050, “Resolution to Complete the Journey to Net Carbon Neutrality by 2030”). This funding has not yet materialized.

Establishment of a revolving loan fund for renewable energy projects (2024-A021). The 81st General Convention approved creation of a $3 million revolving loan program “for dioceses to use to help fund capital projects to assist TEC dioceses, institutions, and congregations in moving their operations towards carbon net zero compliance by 2030.” The loan program is to be created from “unrestricted TEC endowment funds” and patterned on the highly successful Economic Justice Loan Fund. Implementation of 2024-A021, “Create a Care of Creation Loan Program for Episcopal Dioceses” is critical to furthering our church’s transition to renewable energy, as funding remains a barrier for many dioceses. Since this initiative is actually budget neutral, we urge its immediate implementation for this triennium.

With a passion for God’s Creation and deep care for our church, the Green Caucus has endeavored to help fill the gaps that we have outlined, but nothing can replace a faithful churchwide effort with dedicated TEC staffing for coordination and developing resources across our denomination.

With love and in good faith, we ask our church leaders to prayerfully and deliberately consider the actions urged in this letter and make Creation Care a clear and true priority in The Episcopal Church through budget, staffing, and practical assistance.

In gratitude and fellowship,

The Green Caucus of the Episcopal Church

(List of signatories below)

The Steering Committee of the Green Caucus  

Can. Barbie Bach

Rev. Jerry Cappel

Rev. Dr. Pamela Dolan

Dr. Delia Heck

Rev. Payton Hoegh

Rev. Stephanie Johnson

Rev. Kristina Maulden 

Rev. Daniel Tamm

Deborah White

Warren Wong

The Communications Committee of the Green Caucus

Richard Benson

Chris Deets 

Gaen Murphree