Why Monarch Fest?At Christ the King Lutheran Church, as people of faith, we are called to care for creation.
The population of monarch butterflies (and other pollinators) is declining in devastating numbers due to habitat loss. Our community is coming together to make a difference!
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It's a Matter of Faith
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God's work. Our hands. from ecoAmerica on Vimeo. |
As stewards of this world, we are called to care for the earth and examine our behaviors toward creation. While we need to take from the land for food and sustainability, we also need to be careful that we maintain good stewardship and do not exploit the wonderful things the earth provides. 
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Faith-based Care of Creation Resources
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The Caring For Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice social statement explains the ELCA’s teachings on ecology and the environment, grounded in a biblical vision of God's intention for the healing and wholeness of creation. This statement provides a Christian understanding of the human role to serve in creation, and a hope rooted in God’s faithfulness to the creation from which humans emerge and depend upon for sustaining life. It provides a framework for understanding the human role in creation, the problem of sin and the current environmental crisis. This social statement was adopted in 1993 by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
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The Youth for Monarchs project is a service-learning project that is based on scripture and created for youth ministries of all sizes and denominations. It was designed to inspire junior and senior high youth to take part in creation care by engaging them in the nationwide effort to save one of God’s most amazing creations, the monarch butterfly. This website is a toolkit and its pages include everything youth leaders need to inform youth, engage the community, take action, teach the importance of creation care, and collectively make a measurable difference in the survival of a species.
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Awaking to God's Call for Earthkeeping (by ELCA Diaconal Minister, Kim Winchill) is a four-session small group study to encourage, empower, and equip faith-based groups in their calling to care for creation.
Caring for creation is an essential component of religious faith and witness. Faithful “earthkeeping” can deepen our relationship both with God and with one another, as we work for the healing of the world. |
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Lutherans Restoring Creation is a grassroots movement promoting care for creation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We accomplish this by cultivating a community of dedicated stewards of earth and neighbor who proclaim God’s promise of hope and healing for all.
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Pollinators Need Our Help |
(image from Xerces Society)
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Butterflies in the U.S. have also undergone significant declines: 19% are at risk of extinction, including species with special habitat needs as well as generalist species that were once widespread. The iconic monarch butterfly, for example, has experienced declines of 74–80% in populations both east and west of the Rocky Mountains. Habitat loss, alteration, and fragmentation, as well as diseases, pesticide use and climate change are all threats to pollinators and the ecosystems that they support... 
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Growing a Greener World Episode 1008: Bringing Nature Home
Growing a Greener World When it comes to understanding the vital relationships between native plants and the wildlife that depends on them, Doug Tallamy is the acclaimed expert. This episode explores ways to incorporate nature into your landscape and help you understand why that’s so important. |
Learn more through these Advocate Groups
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Pollinator Partnership’s mission is to promote the health of pollinators, critical to food and ecosystems, through conservation, education, and research.
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The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats. As a science-based organization, they both conduct their own research and rely upon the most up-to-date information to guide their conservation work. Their key program areas are: pollinator conservation, endangered species conservation, and reducing pesticide use and impacts.
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The Monarch Joint Venture (MJV) is a partnership of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, businesses and academic programs
working together to protect the monarch migration across the United States. |
