Faith Climate Action Week
2019-04-05 - 2019-04-14
(Previously known as the Preach-In on Global Warming)
Faith Climate Action Week will be ten days in April during Earth Month and will focus on how we can take action to protect our climate. This year, we will find joy and rejuvenation in the natural world and reconnect to why we love and protect our planet.
Go to the event website for Worship Resources, How To Participate, and much more!

Caring for Creation
The Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice social statement explains the ELCA’s teachings on ecology and the environment, grounded in a biblical vision of God’s intention for the healing and wholeness of creation. This statement provides a Christian understanding of the human role to serve in creation, and a hope rooted in God’s faithfulness to the creation from which humans emerge and depend upon for sustaining life. It provides a framework for understanding the human role in creation, the problem of sin and the current environmental crisis.
Caring for Creation expresses a call to pursue justice for creation through active participation, solidarity, sufficiency and sustainability, and states the commitments of the ELCA for pursuing wholeness for creation — commitments expressed through individual and community action, worship, learning, moral deliberation and advocacy.
You can read or download the full social statement Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice in English or en español. This statement was adopted in 1993 by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, PhD, speaking
2019-04-11 - 2019-04-12
Friends,

We are thrilled that Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, PhD, Provost of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute (the seminary for Reform Rabbis) will be in Dallas and speaking at Temple Emanu-El, April 11-13. Dr. Weiss is the editor of the newly published book, American Values Religious Voices: 100 Days 100 Letters which include letters written to the President and members of the United States Senate and Congress over the first 100 days of the presidency in 2018. Each letter was written by a different scholar of sacred scripture, and each is more inspirational than the next. The letters are powerful statements about what we, people of many faiths, cultures and ethnicities believe about the values of our country and the dreams we have for ourselves, our families and our communities. Here is the link to the project which also has information about the new book. American Values Religious Voices | 100 Days. 100 Letters.
Dr. Weiss will be speaking about her book on Thursday April 11 at 7 p.m. in the Stern Chapel at Temple Emanu-El, and we hope you and members of your community will join us for this exciting presentation. Here is a pdf of the invitation for you to share widely. (For security reasons, please RSVP in advance.)
FOR LEADERS: We invite you to join us, as faith leaders and academics, for brunch with Rabbi Weiss on Friday April 12 from 10am-12noon at the Communities Foundation. She will speak with us about how to use this book as a tool for building interfaith relationships in a variety of different settings, and we will have the chance to practice that work together. If you have colleagues that would be interested, please share this invitation with them. There is no charge for the event, but reservations are necessary for planning purposes. (And your reservation will assure you a complimentary, signed copy of her book!) You can RSVP using this link: https://participate.tedallas.org/interfaithclergybrunch.
We are proud and excited to be collaborating together to make this possible and hope you will be with us.
With blessings to all,
Rabbi Debra Robbins, Temple Emanu-El
Rev. Dr. Jaime Clark-Soles Professor, Baptist House of Studies at Perkins School of Theology, SMU
Rabbi Nancy Kasten Chief Relationship Officer, Faith Commons
Rev. Dr. George A. Mason Senior Pastor, Wilshire Baptist Church; President, Faith Commons
Almas Muscatwalla Board of Directors, Faith Forward Dallas at Thanksgiving Square
Kyle Ogden President & CEO, The Thanks-Giving Foundation
Dr. Nils Roemer Director, The Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies, UT Dallas
Dr. Andrew C. Stoker Senior Minister, First United Methodist Church Dallas
