On October 9-10, 2010, church members and others in Nashville, Tennessee, held a conference on green jobs and a 10/10/10 Global Work Party to highlight making our world more sustainable and protecting the climate and environment. But some members of Belmont and Edgehill United Methodist churches in Nashville continue to care for the earth through the ongoing work of their “Green Teams.”

The fifteen members of Belmont UMC’s Green Team set up a website to encourage their families, congregation, and community to reduce their carbon footprint. The site offers ways to discover and measure our effect upon the earth, shares encouraging stories, and connects environmental issues to Christian stewardship.

“We are called to see that all life has a sufficient share of the resources of nature,” they say. “With new hope rooted in Christ and with more obedient living as stewards of the earth, we can participate in God’s healing of creation.”
Inspired by Belmont, nearby Edgehill UMC formed its own Green Team, which invites participants to follow “The Ten Commitments.” These include doing ten hours of volunteer work in the community, planting ten trees in a reforestation project, eating ten dinners a month without meat, and reducing our carbon footprint by ten percent over the next year.

To learn more, go to http://www.belmontgreenteam.org or http://www.edgehill.org.

Some Questions for Discussion:
* What could you do as stewards of the earth in your community?
* How might you start a Green Team in your congregation?

Written 12/6/2010 for the General Board of Discipleship
of The United Methodist Church