Creation Care is a committee of St James Episcopal Church in Taos, New Mexico that began in September 2022 with about five people.
Vision: Humans who respect the earth and nature as equally sustaining.
Mission: To promote climate- and earth-friendly action by individuals, our congregation, corporations, and our governments that will sustain life on earth through education and practice.
We are members of Saint James Episcopal Church. As members of the Body of Christ, we revere all of God’s creation. This includes reverence for the earth.
We are aware that the earth’s environment is undergoing catastrophic change due to global warming, which is primarily due to fossil fuel emissions of carbon dioxide. Scientists have been aware for over two hundred years that carbon dioxide emissions increase the temperature of the atmosphere. Only in the last several decades have the harmful consequences of such warming been apparent.
As members of Creation Care, we are committed to the following:
Express our concerns in appropriate liturgies at St. James, as well as in non-liturgical events.
Work with other people of faith, and all persons of good will, in the Taos area and all of New Mexico, to address climate change by education and political action.
Facilitate energy efficient changes in the Saint James’ facilities, as well as in our own personal lives.
It's never been this warm in February. Here's why that's not a good thing, CNN, Feb 23, 2023.
The American climate migration has already begun, Guardian, 23 February 2023. "More than 3 million Americans lost their homes to climate disasters last year."
We are concerned with both Climate Change and Biodiversity.
Here is an article from the NY Times: The Science of Climate Change Explained: Facts, Evidence and Proof that covers the following topics:
How much agreement is there among scientists about climate change?
Since greenhouse gases occur naturally, how do we know they’re causing Earth’s temperature to rise?
Why should we be worried that the planet has warmed 2°F since the 1800s?
Is climate change a part of the planet’s natural warming and cooling cycles?
How do we know global warming is not because of the sun or volcanoes?
How can winters and certain places be getting colder if the planet is warming?
What will it cost to do something about climate change, versus doing nothing?
Speaker
Get title and description
Get brief biography
confirm date and time
Audio-visual requirements
Planning
Get on church calendar
Organize public meetings and coordinate everyone
Publicity
Newspaper, Radio stations, other Congregations
Easel in Narthex, with topic, speaker, mission, and food request, date, and location
Meeting request in Newsletter
Posters
Scribe
Take notes during meetings.
Write up and distribute notes and progress
Technical Support
Audio and Visual
Furniture Setup and Cleanup
Tables, chairs, tablecloths
Kitchen Setup and Cleanup
Serving utensils
Dishwashing
Food
Request on easel in Narthex
Soup, Salad, Bread, Desert
Prayers
Select and Lead
Introduction
Read Mission statement
Speaker biography
Community Relations
Meet with leaders of related groups in Taos
Donations
Put out and collect labeled container
Arrange to deposit funds in church account