Getting Started:
The Overall Plan

The materials below are designed to train a small group of lay people and clergy to bring care for creation into the full life and mission of your congregation. You may use this manual in different ways, doing some or all of the processes and projects suggested here. For the program to work well, you may want to follow the steps suggested and the principles recommended. (You can read the entire manual as a pdf here).

In brief, the following steps represent the procedures to become a Green Congregation.

• Getting Started and Keeping Going: overall plan
• Summary of the Green Congregation Program
• Action Plan (Short Version)
• Action Plan Instructions
• Task Descriptions
• How to Proceed: Frequently Asked Questions
• Strategies and Principles
• Engage the Whole Congregation
• Name and Symbols
• Use a Parish Model
• What Church Leaders Should Learn about Caring for Creation
• Green Congregation Certification Process
• Green Congregation Mission Statement
• Create a congregational covenant
• Take an Eathkeeping Pledge
• Read reports from other congregations