Creation Justice Ministries
Creation Justice Ministries, an organization that helps faith communities advocate around environmental issues, is one of four AGU Thriving Earth Exchange Community Science Hubs. The 40-year-old organization, which began as the Eco-Justice Working Group for the National Council of Churches, has members from various Christian denominations across the United States.
Pastor Harris (left), the community leader for the Nazarene Baptist Church project, showed Weston (right) and Shores around the property where a community garden is being planned.
Now in its second year as a Community Science Hub, Creation Justice Ministries has 10 community science projects up and running across six states. “I’ve been excited to see how these projects have mobilized congregation members who weren’t typically that involved in the church’s activities,” said Derrick Weston, director of theological education and formation for the organization. “The projects have created new entry points for engagement by connecting faith with actions that can improve communities in meaningful ways.”
Weston said that many of the churches he worked with were initially hesitant to pursue community science projects due to a lack of models to follow, making it feel like they were stepping into the unknown.
“However, as they engaged with Community Science Fellows and saw the pieces come together, their understanding and confidence grew,” he said. “We saw the overall energy shift — from uncertainty to enthusiasm — resulting in strong, positive momentum around the projects.”
Weston and Shores met with Ananyo Bhattacharya (right) and Nguyen (second from right) at the University of Michigan. Nguyen is a University of Michigan doctoral student and the community scientist working with Scott Memorial United Methodist Church in Detroit. Bhattacharya is a recent doctoral graduate of the University and a scientist on a community science project with the Nurture Nature Hub.
Collaborating to improve the community
Weston and Amanda Shores, senior manager of Thriving Earth Exchange cohorts, had the opportunity to travel to Michigan and see firsthand how several of the Community Science Hub projects were progressing.
They visited Nazarene Baptist Church, North End in Detroit, which is planning a community garden on its property. The church wants to use the garden to provide more food to the community while also improving the church grounds and beautifying the neighborhood. They are using a nearby garden just a few blocks away as a model and have been actively consulting with its organizers to learn best practices, build relationships and better understand what it takes to create a sustainable, community-led effort.
“The church has been a primary location for food distribution in their community and is excited about adding items grown on their own property,” said Weston. “It was heartening to see the different groups talking in a very non-competitive way and rallying around this idea that the community can feed itself and support itself in this way.”
Weston and Shores also met with Lisa Nguyen, the community scientist working with Scott Memorial United Methodist Church in Detroit. This project is identifying waste management tools that could help address the ongoing issue of illegal dumping on church property. Nguyen told Weston and Shores that she has seen a real shift within the church since the project began, with people becoming energized and imagining new possibilities for their community.
Tony Thompson (right) showed Weston and Shores around the property at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church of Pontiac. The church is looking to build a community garden to help address food insecurity in the community.
Weston and Shores also visited New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church of Pontiac, which is exploring how a community garden could help address food insecurity. Because the three churches—two in Detroit and one in Pontiac—are located close to one another, Weston helped connect all three pastors. He is encouraged to see them now beginning to explore potential opportunities for collaboration.
“It’s been amazing to see people realize that the church can solve its own problems,” said Weston. “Sometimes they just needed someone to help point them to the right resources. And once that happened, it sparked a bigger question: What else could we be doing? What’s missing from who we are? It’s been a joy to listen as congregations begin to dream about what’s possible.”
Making new connections
Weston attended the AGU24 conference in December, which helped him connect with other faith-based organizations and better understand the role that community science could have in churches. As a result, Creation Justice Ministries is examining how to integrate community science more strongly into its work.
While the organization has typically worked with regional governing bodies, the Hub projects have allowed it to engage more directly with individual congregations, expanding one-on-one relationships and broadening the conversation around environmental justice. Weston would like to develop a class that congregations could use to introduce the idea of community science, which would provide a much-needed education tool.
“We are also beginning to broaden what creation justice can mean by moving beyond traditional environmental advocacy,” said Weston. “While churches may not see themselves as environmentalists, their efforts are positively impacting the environment and addressing justice issues.”
