Greening Sacred Spaces • Living Faithfully – Living Green
Overview
Greening Sacred Spaces is a practical programme developed by Faith & the Common Good to assist faith communities to Renew the Sacred Balance. We have developed a whole resource kit – with workshops, posters, music, and more– to help faith groups reduce greenhouse gases and to live sustainably.
In this section
- Overview
- GSS Forum
- Worship Spaces
- Faith Communities
- Workshop Guide
- Green Guide
- Energy Action Planner
- GSS Video
- Green Team Guide
- GSS Practical Guide
- Financing Options
- Organising for Action
Greening Sacred Spaces thanks the generous support of the Ontario Conservation Bureau and the Toronto Atmospheric Fund that help makes this program possible.
Greening Sacred Spaces is a practical program developed by Faith & the Common Good to assist faith communities in their efforts to Renew the Sacred Balance by making their communities more harmonious with the natural world. See our resource kit, with guidebooks, workshops, posters, and the GSS Video, designed to help faith groups reduce greenhouse gases and live more sustainably.
Climate change may be the greatest threat to the well-being of our planet today, and as such represents a challenge to people of all faiths. More than 2000 scientists, who contributed to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, have predicted that by 2100, Earth's average temperature will climb between 1.5 and 6 degrees Celsius, rising twice as fast in the Arctic. The consequences threaten the health and safety of all living beings.
The scientists concluded that most of the warming observed in the past 50 years is attributable to “human activities," in particular, burning fossil fuels. This releases greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and vapour), along with smog - causing pollutants into the global atmosphere at a rate faster than the Earth can absorb.
Faith & the Common Good is an interfaith network of religious communities who understand the Earth as a sacred gift. We believe that our faith traditions are a key source of wisdom in the great spiritual quest of our time: Healing our beloved Earth. We believe that we are called to re-envision the way that we live.
The great spiritual and political leader of India, Mahatma Gandhi, said, "We must be the change we want to see in the world." Anthropologist Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." T hese quotes from two people who worked to change the world can encourage us all to take action as we re-envision and renew the world.
Faith & the Common Good has developed a whole resource kit – with guidebooks, workshops, posters, and videos – to help faith groups creatively engage in reducing greenhouse gases, improving the health and well-being of all beings. We will encourage, advise, and support faith communities to green their places of worship and their own homes through such activities as environmental audits and retrofits, educational and motivational presentations, and public events.
Greening Sacred Spaces will help people of faith live out the call to protect our planet home within their own context by applying their spirituality in practical ways.
Find out more about Greening Sacred Spaces...
- In our worship spaces (includes a link to case studies)
- In our congregations and faith communities (includes the green guide and introductory workshop outline)
- Ways to organize for action (includes a sign-up for the Green Team mailing list)
Download the Greening Sacred Spaces Brochure
- Download the Greening Sacred Spaces Brochure here (Large file - 1 MB)
Order Greening Sacred Spaces Resources
A wide variety of resources are available for order here.