Walking the Talk: Environmental Practices and a Commitment to Justice

St. James United Church of Christ in Hamburg, New York (a suburb of Buffalo) has been officially designated as a Creation Justice Church of the United Church of Christ. Our journey to this designation involved a variety of endeavors, generally addressing our concern for the earth and taking action toward greater environmental justice and awareness. We have sought to embody our values through both our personal environmental practices and our commitment to active solidarity with Indigenous peoples.

Our Own Environmental Practices

Specifically, we now use environmentally friendly cleaning products, use recyclable office supplies (including 100% recycled paper), avoid paper products for social gatherings, and installed LED lighting throughout the church building. Our weekly e-news includes a number of useful tips – choosing to use public transportation, walking or biking to destinations when possible, ways to conserve energy at home, how to reduce food waste, etc.

Last spring, we hosted a well-attended presentation by a local Master Gardener who not only shared ideas for native plantings around the church property, but had great suggestions for natives that parishioners might choose to plant at home.

Land Acknowledgement and Active Solidarity for Justice

We adopted an official Land Acknowledgement statement, recognizing the land on which St. James UCC stands as the original ancestral and unceded territory of the Haudenosaunee and Erie people. This statement appears in our Sunday bulletin and is recited at the beginning of every worship service.

Additionally, we commit to supporting initiatives that empower the local, national, and international Indigenous communities and to listening, learning, and taking actions to address injustices past and present that have impacted these communities and all God’s creation.

St. James UCC signed on as an official supporter of the Seneca Nation’s termination request to the State of New York regarding a proposed STAMP Manufacturing Park. Planned to be located between Buffalo and Rochester, it includes a nine-mile outflow pipe designed to transport 6 million gallons of industrial wastewater through treaty-protected Seneca Nation territory. The outflow not only endangers the quality of Oak Orchard Creek, a popular fishing destination, but also abuts the rich ecological lands of the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge which lie with their ancestral lands.

This spring, the Mission and Social Action Team is honored to host presenter Pete Hill, member of the Cayuga Nation and special initiative coordinator of Native American Community Services. His efforts have focused on reclaiming native history, moving beyond historical traumas to effectively apply cultural teachings to programs to benefit Native American communities. We look forward to his presentation and to possibilities for further engagement.

Written by Deb Fenn, on behalf of the Mission and Social Action Team St. James United Church of Christ Hamburg, New York.