Ingraining ‘the Earth Care ethic’

Thursday, June 26, 2025 - 18:56

Enterprise file photo — Michael Koff

Reverend Holly Cameron leads an Earth Care Congregation at the Presbyterian Church of New Scotland.

NEW SCOTLAND — The Presbyterian Church here has been certified by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through February 2026 as an Earth Care congregation.

The certification program, which started in 2010, is meant to recognize churches that “make the commitment to take seriously God’s charge to ‘till and keep’ the garden,” said a release from the church.

The congregation affirmed its Earth Care Pledge to “integrate environmental practices and thinking into their worship, education, facilities, and outreach.”

“One of the goals of this program is to inspire churches to care for God’s Earth in a holistic way, through integrating Earth Care into all aspects of their church life,” said the release. The New Scotland church received a similar certification last year.

“By the time a church has recertified for several years, the Earth Care ethic becomes ingrained in a congregation’s culture, spreads to the surrounding community, and impacts the personal lives of individual church members,” the release said.

Altogether, 361 congregations in 41 states participate in the program.

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