Education Sessions and Trainings

The following programs, facilitated by GWIPL staff and volunteers, can easily fit into your adult, youth, or family education programs. All programs are interactive and either focus on how your specific faith tradition views the issue or covers multiple faith communities.

Each program runs about an hour, but can be tailored to your community’s specific needs. GWIPL will be happy to work with you to set up an education series around these specific issues. This is a great way to further involve your community in the solutions to take care of God’s creation. To scheduled a program, contact Allison Fisher.

Program Offerrings Include:

Global Warming Opportunities: We are facing a grave climate crisis. Scientists estimate that there is a 75 percent chance that within five years the entire North Pole ice cap will completely disappear during the summer months, with devastating repercussions of flooding, refugees, and food shortages. However, this crisis is also a tremendous opportunity. Learn how we can use this opportunity to connect to our faith traditions, build community, and work for a more just world.

Energy Justice: Over 470 mountains in Appalachia have been destroyed due to a practice known as mountain-top removal mining. Explore what this means for the ecology and the people of the region and how we as people of faith can best respond to live out our sacred calling of protecting creation.

Our Waste: Our Responsibility: We produce 245 million tons of waste each year, leaving potential for water quality damage for thousands of years. Through hands-on activities, understand how our community contributes to this problem and through biblical reflection (or other sacred texts) what we can do to reduce our impact.

Creation Walks: It is time to get outside and connect with creation. This is the perfect program to help your community learn about all of the wonders of our natural world and responsibilities we have.  Walks will include identifying plants, animals, and other aspects of creation.

Green Path of Abraham: Through small discussion circles, discover how the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faith traditions view our responsibility towards taking care of the earth and our fellow human inhabitants. And discuss how these views impact how we should act.

God's Creation, Global Warming & Poverty: A View from the Philippines: GWIPL staffer T.C. Morrow travelled to the Phillipines in February 2008. She has prepared a Power Point presentation to share in a one-session class or forum.

The following are specialized trainings to help your care of creation group be effective at greening your congregation.

Caring for Creation 101: How to start, run, plan, and implement an effective green effort in your community.

Communication Skills: Learn how to find your voice, tell your story, and communicate your message to make your effort successful.

Advocacy: Policy issues, both nationally and at the state/district level, are front and center in the environmental conversation. Learn how to build an effective effort in your congregation to make your voice heard by elected officials.

Success Stories/ Mentorship: Learn from first-hand stories how other communities have been successful at their programs.  Topics include: zero trash meals, rain gardens, going green at home, and starting a CSA (community supported agriculture).

For Youth: Being Cool
Do you want to engage the youth of your congregation to take action against global warming? GWIPL has designed a program that will inform and excite middle to high school-aged youth about reducing global warming. This program is structured for either one or two hands-on sessions facilitated by the talented GWIPL staff that makes connections between faith and the environment. The program is designed to help youth understand how they can save creation and sets them up to do a project to benefit your community. Please contact Allison at 202-885-8684 for more information or to schedule a program.
Grade Levels: 7th-12th grade
This program fits well into the exploration of the following larger themes: interfaith, social justice, stewardship and integrity of creation, and climate change.

All programs are free, but donations are appreciated. GWIPL will also be happy to work with you on a green stewardship project after the education session.

^ To Top of Page