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In this time of growing environmental and human rights urgency, the Coordinating Team of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, with love and hope for people and creation, gathered to write this  letter to The United Methodist Council of Bishops. Given the importance of the Episcopacy as denominational leaders, our hope is that our bishops will not only read the letter but take it to heart and seriously contemplate how they, and we as a denomination, can incorporate creation justice in all aspects of United Methodist ministry.

The following is a one-page summary of the Letter to the Council of Bishops. Read the full Open Letter to the Council of Bishops here.

A One-Page summary of the Letter To The United Methodist Council of Bishops on Creation Justice

September 1, 2025

To the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church, greetings.

We write with hope and urgency, in recognition of our shared faith and the environmental and spiritual crisis we all face.

In 2009, the Council of Bishops wrote and published a letter and eco-study that called the church to attend to God’s Renewed Creation. Yet the crisis continues to worsen. The scale of suffering of human beings and the whole community of creation demonstrates the need for urgent spiritual and denominational action.

We, as United Methodists, must move from words to further transformative action. We seek leadership from the Council of Bishops to lead with and support strategic action for God’s Creation alongside the local churches, conferences, agencies, Conference Creation Justice Coordinators, and the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement (UMCJM). 

As part of the full, open letter available on the UMCJM website, we prayerfully request:

1. a straightforward and clear statement from the Council of Bishops, followed by strategic action, that communicates strong and unambiguous leadership and leaves no room for doubt, avoidance, or misinterpretation, giving permission and support to leaders in our faith to speak about this climate crisis and how we can faithfully respond.
2. support and resourcing to address creation care and environmental stewardship and justice in the boards and agencies and also especially in the local churches and annual conferences
3. entering into conversation with us at the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement to seek actionable and urgent next steps to amplify creation justice in the denomination

In these requests we write with hope for urgent action for creation justice. This action is essential to meet this spiritual and ecological crisis, but it is also essential as an act of faith, by the people of faith, for the transformation of the world.

In Christ,

The United Methodist Creation Justice Movement

Read the full Open Letter to the Council of Bishops on the UM Creation Justice Movement Website.