Earth Ministry

Founded in 1992 out of a desire to draw attention to the moral and spiritual dimensions of the ecological crisis, Earth Ministry reflects the desire of a growing number of Christians to connect their faith with social and environmental sustainability. Earth Ministry grew out of a congregational eco-spirituality group at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, which organized study groups, educational events, and hands-on projects around ecology and Christianity in the late 1980s. In 1991, three active members in that group, Carla Berkedal (then a priest at St. Mark’s), Jim Mulligan (current Executive Director of Earth Ministry) and Ruth Mulligan, decided to form an organization to help foster environmental awareness and earth-care groups in Christian churches. Donations from members of St. Mark’s and other supportive individuals and a grant from the National Wildlife Federation enabled the launching of Earth Ministry. By early 1992, Berkedal and the Mulligans had gathered a Board of Directors and applied for 501(c)(3) status, and later that year, the first edition of Earth Letter was published. By the end of the next year, Earth Ministry had attracted fifty participating congregations representing nine denominations; networked with various religious, environmental, educational, and community organizations; opened a resource center; made a video about Christian environmentalism; and sponsored various eco-religious gatherings, workshops, and educational programs. In subsequent years, Earth Ministry has grown continuously both locally and nationally, gathering members and affiliates and expanding both its staff and programs. In 1999, Earth Ministry received a Special Achievement Conservation Award from the National Wildlife Federation for its work with eighty-five different congregations in the Puget Sound Region. In 2001, Earth Ministry initiated a salmon habitat restoration project at a superfund site on the Duwamish River. In their tenth anniversary year of 2002, Earth Ministry staff made an average of two presentations a week, supported 103 congregations representing fifteen denominations, participated in a variety of eco-justice and conservation campaigns, sponsored field trips and events, and published a new edition of the Greening Congregations Handbook as well as a new book, Food and Faith. In June 2003, Earth Ministry, the National Council of Church’s Eco-Justice Working Group, Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry, and the Washington Association of Churches co-sponsored a conference at Seattle University entitled “Enough for All: Sustainable Living in a Global World.”