wfn.org | Chattanooga's Pilgrim Congregational Declares Itself To Be An Earth Church

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Pilgrim Congregational Declares Itself To Be An Earth Church
posted January 29, 2009

Pilgrim Congregational Church voted unanimously to be an EarthChurch during in its annual congregational meeting.

This covenantal relationship was established with
?our Creator God and with each other as a community of faith? in joyful response to God?s declaration to establish a bond of commitment and responsibility with every part of creation. Pilgrim Church ?seeks to be as inclusive as God?s love in (its) circle of caring.?

?Care for the Earth is not only a human necessity, but also a religious imperative,? said David Brown, Senior Minister of Pilgrim Church. 
?We have responsibility for this planet. I hope that all people of goodwill will join together in caring for the endangered environment.?

Much prayerful study and deliberation by the Church Council and its Missions and Outreach Commission went into defining what it might mean to be an EarthChurch prior to bringing the declaration before the congregation for a vote, it was stated.

?Our action plan is not meant to be limiting in scope nor restrictive in execution,? according to Therese Padgett, chair of Missions and Outreach. 
?Our possibilities of being good stewards of creation are endless and very exciting.?

Every commission of the church included action plans for implementation during 2009, ?realizing that being an EarthChurch always means that we are constantly becoming more what God would have us to be: good stewards of the whole of creation in loving response to the abundant providence of our Creator God.? This meant that the action plan is a beginning to a continuing and ever evolving process.

Jerome Gordon, Moderator for Pilgrim Church, said he ?is very pleased that the church took this action today.? He looks forward to Pilgrim
?growing in its commitment to becoming an EarthChurch.?

According to Pilgrim?s EarthChurch Declaration, 
?We intend to be comprehensive by transforming our minds through education, our spirits through worship, our hearts and hands through sustainable practices, our resources through intentional planning, and our consciousness through discipleship. ? Justice, stewardship, sustainability, and sufficiency: we lift up these faith principles within our ministry to protect God?s world.?

Pilgrim Congregational, Chattanooga?s only United Church of Christ, is located at 400 Glenwood Dr.

Pilgrim Church practices extravagant hospitality by maintaining a caring, inclusive, and open-minded faith community where individuals may search for a vision of God and relate the Christian faith to the modern world, it was stated.