New Resource | Congregational Manuals on Watershed Discipleship

An exciting new resource is available for use in congregations and interfaith groups interested in caring for the environment: Rev. Dr. Nancy Wright and Richard Butz, MFA, have created a Congregational Watershed Discipleship Manual in partnership with Vermont Interfaith Power & Light and Voices of Water for Climate.

They created two manuals: one with a Christian emphasis, Congregational Watershed Discipleship Manual: Faith Communities as Stewards of the World’s Waters (1^st Christian edition), and another with an interreligious emphasis, Congregational Watershed Manual: Religious Communities as Stewards of the World’s Waters (1st Interreligious edition).

The manuals combine teachings around the spiritual and theological importance of water in Christianity and other faith traditions with practical ideas about how to work together as a congregation to care for one’s watershed, including water testing, building rain barrels, activities to draw people’s awareness to water in their region, and ideas for lobbying and activism. The manual includes an explanation of watershed discipleship, and shares the stories of Ascension Lutheran Church (where Rev. Dr. Wright is the pastor) as they attempted to enact watershed discipleship in their congregation and region.

In 2018, Vermont Interfaith Power and Light (VTIPL) joined with local organizations to create a model for watershed stewardship based on the experience of Ascension Lutheran Church in South Burlington, Vermont. Each one of these inspiring and practical manuals is available by free download as a PDF on this website.

Alternatively, if you’d like one copy or multiple copies of the printed and bound manual(s), you can fill out and mail in the order form (attached below). These are high resolution print copies, spiral bound to conveniently lie flat. If you’d like to order one or more copies online, you can do this through the website of the organization Voices of Water for Climate (VOW). VOW is working with VTIPL to take orders and distribute printed copies of the manuals. Donations to VOW for printed copies will cover costs incurred, including shipping and handling.

Order form to print and mail (receive bound copies for local use, $15 each), or order one or more bound copies online