National Religious Partnership for the Environment Records
Collection
Call Number: RG 264
Scope and Contents
This collection documents the foundation of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE) and its subsequent activities, including the activities undertaken by the NRPE’s four independent member organizations, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCCC), the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), and the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN). The materials in this collection are evidence of the concerns that these religious groups and other affiliated religious groups have for the environment. The mission statement of the NRPE is as follows: “Guided by biblical teaching, the Partnership seeks to encourage people of faith to weave values and programs of care for God's creation throughout the entire fabric of religious life: 1) Liturgy, worship and prayer; 2) Theological study, the education of future clergy, and of the young; 3) The stewardship of our homes, lands and resources; 4) Protecting the lives of our communities and health of our children; 5) Our social ministry to the poor and vulnerable who have first and preferential claim on our conscience; 6) Bringing the perspectives of moral values and social justice before public policymakers.”
Series I, National Religious Partnership for the Environment, contains organization and policy records, campaigns and events, and publicity and outreach. The NRPE organization and policy records include reports and proposals documenting the history and administrative actions of the NRPE. Records of notable campaigns and events launched by the NRPE such as the Campaign for Sustainability and Justice, the Children's Environmental Health Campaign, Partnership Move Forward, Mission to Washington, and the Interfaith Climate and Energy Campaign are included.
Series II, Partner Organizations, contains documents from each of the four partner organizations, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), THE National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCCC), and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Notable campaigns are covered including the EEN's "What Would Jesus Drive" initiative, the Black Curch Economic and Environmental Justice movement, and the Children's Environmental Health project as it relates to the USCC.
Series III, Resource Materials, contains materials on a host of related organizations as well as related individuals, news clippings, and scholarship. One of the most documented related organizations is the Union for Concerned Scientists. The related materials include information on a 2008 NRPE conference hosted by the Yale Divinity School as well as the NRPE's relationship with the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Science. A large portion of the news clippings represent press coverage of the "What Would Jesus Drive?" campaign.
Series IV, Audio-Visual Material, includes documentation in several formats produced by the NRPE and related organizations.
Portions of this collection have been digitized. For more information regarding access to the digital files, please contact the Special Collections Librarian at divinity.library@yale.edu.
Series I, National Religious Partnership for the Environment, contains organization and policy records, campaigns and events, and publicity and outreach. The NRPE organization and policy records include reports and proposals documenting the history and administrative actions of the NRPE. Records of notable campaigns and events launched by the NRPE such as the Campaign for Sustainability and Justice, the Children's Environmental Health Campaign, Partnership Move Forward, Mission to Washington, and the Interfaith Climate and Energy Campaign are included.
Series II, Partner Organizations, contains documents from each of the four partner organizations, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), THE National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCCC), and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Notable campaigns are covered including the EEN's "What Would Jesus Drive" initiative, the Black Curch Economic and Environmental Justice movement, and the Children's Environmental Health project as it relates to the USCC.
Series III, Resource Materials, contains materials on a host of related organizations as well as related individuals, news clippings, and scholarship. One of the most documented related organizations is the Union for Concerned Scientists. The related materials include information on a 2008 NRPE conference hosted by the Yale Divinity School as well as the NRPE's relationship with the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Science. A large portion of the news clippings represent press coverage of the "What Would Jesus Drive?" campaign.
Series IV, Audio-Visual Material, includes documentation in several formats produced by the NRPE and related organizations.
Portions of this collection have been digitized. For more information regarding access to the digital files, please contact the Special Collections Librarian at divinity.library@yale.edu.
Dates
- 1993–2010
Creator
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Deposited by the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, 2014.
Arrangement
- I. National Religious Partnership for the Environment Records
- II. Partner Organizations Records
- III. Resource Materials
- IV. Audio-Visual Materials
Extent
25 Linear Feet (42 boxes)
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
These records document the activities of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE), an alliance composed of four likeminded independent member organizations, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCCC), the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), and the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN). The NRPE formally began its activities in October of 1993. Since then, the NRPE and its member organizations have been striving for a better environment by raising money for environmental projects and initiatives, initiating programs to address critical environmental concerns, and by generating hundreds of press stories that have documented the contributions of the faith community. The NRPE has also initiated or sponsored key events designed to help its member organizations make the case that the environment is essentially a moral concern.
Biographical / Historical
The National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE) is an alliance composed of four independent member organizations: the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN), the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCCC), and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
Chronology
- 1992
- Interreligious Consultation; resolution to dissolve the Joint Appeal by Science and Religion for the Environment; resolution to establish the NRPE
- 1993
- NRPE formally begins activities; EEN launched; COEJL established; USCCB establishes Environmental Justice Program
- 1994
- Education and action kits distributed by all four partners to 53,000 congregationsNCCC Eco-Justice Working Group, Toxic Tours and Hearings, El Paso Texas
- 1995
- COEJL awards 30 small grants to develop diverse models of Jewish environmental programs; Rabbi David Saperstein testifies to Congress on the protection of endangered species on behalf of the NRPE; USCCB distributes second parish resource kit, "Peace with God the Creator, Peace with All Creation"; USCCB scholar's consultation on "Ecology and Catholic Theology," Portland, Oregon
- 1996
- - COEJL launches national Tu B'Shvat Campaign to Protect Forests
- - USCCB Environmental Justice Program distributes third parish resource kit, "Let the Earth Bless the Lord"
- - "Visions of Eden: A Jewish Perspective on the Environment" airs nationally, coproduced by ABC television, COEJL, and The Jewish Theological Seminary
- - EEN assembles consultation on training Evangelical seminarians in creation-care
- - First COEJL regional affiliates form in Seattle, WA, and Ventura, CA
- - USCCB scholars' consultation on "Ecology, the Common Good, and Catholic Theology," Collegeville, MN
- - "Caring for Creation" video on the Endangered Species Act co-produced by NCCC Eco-Justice Working Group
- - USCCB Environmental Justice Program Consultation on Environmental Justice
- 1997
- - USCCB Environmental Justice Program scholars' conference, "Creation As God's Song: Catholic Imagination and the Environment
- - NCCC develops Environmental Justice Covenant Congregation Program and Environmental Justice Resource Distribution Center
- - COEJL mobilizes Jewish support for a strong U.S. position to address global warming at the Kyoto negotiations
- - Web of Creation website launched
- - "It's God's World: Christians, the Environment, and Climate Change" study resource prepared by NCCC Eco-Justice Working Group
- - Religious leaders meet with members of Congress and the Administration
- - "God's Earth: Our Home" ecumenical event for environmental justice leaders, Estes Park, CO, sponsored by Eco-Justice Working Group of the NCCC
- - USCCB Environmental Justice Program awards regional grants
- - National Council of Catholic Women passes resolution on Children's Environmental Health
- - "Pedagogy for Eco-Justice" conference co-sponsored by NCCC Eco-Justice Working Group and Theological Education to Meet the Environmental Challenge
- 1998
- - "Your Health and the Environment" published by Eco-Justice Working Group of the NCCC
- - USCCB Environmental Justice Program awards regional grants
- - Earth Day Sunday theme (Eco-Justice Working Group, NCCC) on environmental health
- - COEJL holds Judaism and Nature Retreat for Rabbis, Pawling, NY
- - EEN helps sponsor American Scientific Affiliation conference
- 1999
- - Statewide interfaith climate campaigns begin in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin
- - COEJL co-publishes Jewish environmental education curriculum with the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE) and distributes it to 4,000 Jewish educators
- - USCCB Environmental Justice Program awards regional grants; "Compassion and the Care of Creation" conference co-sponsored by National Association of Evangelicals, Christianity Today, and the EEN
- - Earth Day Sunday theme, "Sustainable Living", NCCC Eco-Justice Working Group
- - Catholic Scholars Conference on "Linking Environmental Studies, Theology and Science," sponsored by USCCB Environmental Justice Program and Portland University
- - Ecumenical Conference on Environmental Justice, "Christ is in Our Midst," Chicago, IL, sponsored by NCCC Eco-Justice Working Group
- - Catholic Coalition for Children and a Safe Environment launched
- 2000
- - Energy Stewardship Guide for Congregations produced by Eco-Justice Working Group of NCCC
- - Mark X. Jacobs testifies to Congress on increasing fuel economy standards
- - COEJL Leadership Institute, Malibu, CA
- - Earth Day Sunday theme, "Good Stewards of God's Gift of Energy," Eco-Justice Working Group, NCCC
- - COEJL activists around the U.S. testify at Forest Service hearings in favor of protecting National Forests
- 2001
- - Interfaith Climate and Energy Campaign expands to 21 States
- - Over 100 young leaders attend Leadership Institute of the Greater Boston COEJL
- - COEJL organizes first annual Environmental Track at Hillel Spitzer Forum
- - U.S. and Canadian Catholic Bishops issue "The Columbia River Watershed: Caring for Creation and the Common Good"
- - Creation Sunday theme, "Human Health," EEN
- - Earth Day Sunday theme, "Witnessing to the Resurrection: God's Caring for Creation," Eco-Justice Working Group, NCCC
- - "Energy Conservation and God's Creation" religious leaders statement signed by 28 senior Jewish and Christian religious leaders
- - EEN inaugurates "Creation Fest Recycling Program" at Creation Fest, a Christian rock festival, Mount Union, PA
- - USCCB statement on Climate Change; EEN launches www.healthyfamiliesnow.org website
- - USCCB Environmental Justice Program assists five major regional projects in Connecticut, Michigan, Florida, Iowa, and California with two-year funding from Nathan E. Cummings Foundation
- 2002
- - COEJL opens Washington DC office
- - Interfaith Climate and Energy Campaign issues Power Plant Pollution Statement of Principles
- - COEJL of Southern California helps pass groundbreaking state legislation requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles
- - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gives 2002 Energy Star Award to the Interfaith Climate and Energy Campaign for its education and outreach efforts
- - COEJL launches the Jewish Global Environmental Network in cooperation with the Jewish Agency's People to People Center and the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership, Tel Aviv
- - Letter to Senate on energy policy signed by 1,200 religious leaders
- - Creation Sunday theme, "Celebrating Christ's Reconciliation of All of Creation," EEN
- - Earth Day Sunday theme, "Caring for God's Creation: Making the World Safe for Children," Eco- Justice Working Group, NCCC
- - Interfaith Climate Change Network electronic advocacy network launched
- - Fuel Economy "fairs" held at congregations in 15 states
- - Jewish and Christian leaders release an "Open Letter to Automobile Executives" and meet with industry leaders
- - EEN launches "What Would Jesus Drive?" campaign
- 2003
- - "Enough for All: Sustainable Living in a Global World" Environmental Justice Coordinators Conference, Eco-Justice Working Group, NCCC
- - Environmental Justice Coordinators meeting in Washington DC
- - Creation Sunday theme, "What Would Jesus Drive?" EEN
- - Earth Day Sunday theme, "Waters of Life: Enough for All," Eco-Justice Working Group, NCCC
- - EEN "What Would Jesus Drive? Bible Belt Tour"
- - COEJL consultation
- 2004
- - "What Should the Governor Drive?" campaign by the Interfaith Climate and Energy
- - Campaign Creation Sunday theme, "God's Oceans," EEN
- - Earth Day Sunday theme, "Life-Giving Breath of God: Protecting Precious Air Resources," Eco-Justice Working Group, NCCC
- - Letter on Clean Air to President Bush, NCCC Eco-Justice Working Group
- - NRPE releases "Earth's Climate Embraces Us All," open letter to U.S. Senate
- - EEN co-sponsors Sandy Cove Conference, North East, Maryland
- - USCCB consultation, "Catholic Social Teaching and the Environment," St. Paul, Minnesota
- - Religious letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture in support of forest protection
- - Water regional training events for clergy and lay leaders in Maryland, Michigan and Ohio hosted by the NCCC Eco-Justice Working Group
- 2005
- - Interfaith Climate and Energy Campaign completed a four-year education, empowerment and mobilization effort in ten key states (IA,ME,MI,NM,OH,OR,PA,TX,WV,WA), phase of campaign culminated when the U.S. Senate adopted a non-binding resolution on climate change in June of 2005
- - Senior NCCC religious leaders and leading scientists issue a joint letter to Congress calling for action to address climate change
- - USCCB Environmental Justice Program initiates a two-year education and mobilization effort around climate change focused on supporting local projects in Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Arkansas, South Carolina, North Dakota, and Wisconsin
- - COEJL launches special education and advocacy program within broader Jewish community
- - "God's Earth Is Sacred" statement issued by a group of theologians convened by the Eco-Justice Working Group of the NCCC
- - EEN, Christianity Today, and the National Association of Evangelicals establish a special covenant to prepare an evangelical declaration on climate change (see New York Times article, "Evangelical Leaders Swing Influence Behind Effort to Combat Global Warming")
- - Creation Sunday theme, "Protecting God's Endangered Creatures," EEN; Earth Day Sunday theme, "Sacred Oceans and Seas: SOS," NCCC
- - NRPE "Renewing the Covenant" Convocation, Washington DC
- 2006
- - EEN starts a carbon offsets program in cooperation with the Carbon Fund
- - USCC creates a new organization, the Catholic Coaliton on Climate Change (CCCC), designed to carry out an intense effort to educate and mobilize Catholic dioceses, conferences and organizations
- - COEJL's "A Light Among the Nations" campaign encourages Jews to switch to CFL light bulbs
- - EEN launches the Evangelical Climate Initiative and the Evangelical Youth Climate Initiative
- - NCCC produces theological resource "Opening the Letter"
- - NCCC holds two regional climate events in Minnesota and Arkansas followed by a national conference in New Orleans
- 2007
- - NRPE launches "God's Climate Embraces Us All" campaign on poverty and climate change
- - NRPE releases letter calling for urgent action on climate change signed by presidents of USCCB and NCCC
- - NCCC conducts ten major briefings for senior religious leaders
- - COEJL "How Many Jews does it Take to Change a Light Bulb?" campaign
- - Four member groups of NRPE offer joint testimony on June 7th before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
- - NRPE releases "Climate Fairness Agenda: A Religious Call to Address Global Climate Change and Poverty"
- 2008
- - More than 700 clergy endorse NCCC's "Faith Principles on Global Warming"
- - NCCC holds nearly 100 combined meetings and trainings on climate change for local congregations
- - CCCC begins initial stages of "Catholic Climate Covenant Campaign" and "St. Francis Covenant Pledge to Protect Creation and the Poor"
- - COEJL issues "Climate and Energy Policy Priorities" statement, endorsed by other Jewish groups
- - COEJL launches "To Till and to Tend" blog; NCCC releases "Climate and Church: How Global Climate Change will Impact Core Church Ministries"
- - COEJL and Jewish Council on Public Affairs organize mission of Jewish and African American community leaders to New Orleans
- - NCCC conducts their second Young Adult Fellowship retreat in Port Isobel, VA on July 23-25; NCCC conducts a clergy listening tour in New Orleans
- 2009
- - NRPE and partners release updated version of "Climate Fairness Agenda: A Religious Call to Address Global Climate Change and Poverty," distributed to all members of Congress
- - NRPE partners meet with the Environmental Protection agency, Council on Environmental Quality, the State Department, the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, the Treasury Department, and senior White House officials
- - NCCC helps coordinate over 38 organizations to host candlelight vigils for climate justice
- - CCCC creates the "Who's Under Your Carbon Footprint?" ad
- - COEJL prepares to launch the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign
- - COEJL publishes "Jewish Community Priorities for Climate and Energy Policy"
- - NCCC hosts annual "Ecumenical Days;" CCCC publicly launches Catholic Climate Covenant Campaign and the St. Francis Covenant Pledge to Protect Creation and the Poor
- - COEJL convenes the first National Jewish Sustainability Conference
- - NRPE, NCCC, and EEN staff go to Copenhagen to converse with U.S. delegates
- 2010
- - Invitations distributed for congregations to engage in NCCC's carbon reduction campaign
- - EEN initiates formal collaboration with the Christian Coalition of America, the National Hispanic Christian Leaders Conference, and the National Association of Evangelicals
- - COEJL conducts a webinar on energy and climate policy
- - COEJL and other major Jewish organizations sponsor full page ad in the New York Times
- - NCCC's Climate Change and Energy Program presents session to seminary students from the Pacific School of Religion
- - NCCC's Climate Change and Energy Program collaborates with Warren Wilson College for a climate and energy forum in North Carolina; EEN sponsors Creation Care Walk
- - EEN and the National association of Evangelicals sponsor the first annual National Day of Prayer for Creation Care on May 25th
- - EEN sponsors Creation Care Walk for the Gulf Coast
- - COEJL conducts national conference call on the Gulf Oil Disaster
- - EEN, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the Christian Coalition of Alabama sponsor a National Day of Prayer for the Gulf Coast
- - COEJL hosts conversation for rabbis of differing Jewish religious thought
- - COEJL coordinates network of Jewish environmental organizations
- 2011
- - USCCB Social Ministry gathering
- - NRPE hosts "Adapting to Climate Change Impacts in Developing Countries: the Moral Imperative and the Practical Challenges" conference
- - EEN second annual Creation Care Day of Prayer
- - USCCB, EEN, and the National Association of Evangelicals host a Congressional Senate staff briefing on the health impacts of mercury exposure on unborn and young children
- Title
- Guide to the National Religious Partnership for the Environment Records
- Author
- Compiled by Bowen Weyel, Clare Trissel, and Martha Lund Smalley
- Date
- 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Yale Divinity Library Repository