Renewal: Stories from America's Religious Environmental Movement

A look at the growing religious-environmental movement.

Across the nation, Jews, Christians, Muslims and other people of faith are standing up for the environment. The combined energy of these diverse activists is the driving force behind Renewal. Renewal: Stories from America's Religious Environmental Movement airs Tuesday, December 27 at 7:30 p.m. on WXXI World (cable 524/DT21.2). Veteran film producers Marty Ostrow and Terry Kay Rockefeller crisscrossed the country to capture exciting stories of people whose passion and deep moral commitment are making a difference in a time of grave ecological threats.

Evangelical Christians are fighting mountaintop removal, a coal mining process that is decimating Appalachia. Muslims are supporting sustainable farming. Jews are helping children experience the bond between nature and spirituality. Baptists in Mississippi are using faith to raise awareness about their community, made toxic by industrial contamination. Men, women and children are re-examining what it means to be human and how we live on this planet.

Renewal is the first feature-length documentary film to capture the vitality and diversity of today’s religious-environmental activists.

“The Renewal Project is designed to make the documentary’s inspiring stories available to people and organizations who want to be a part of this growing movement,” said producer Marty Ostrow. “When we first began working on the project, we were inspired by the religious groups that are striving to protect life on our planet and reverse the damage that humans have done to the environment.”

The eight stories in Renewal are:

A Crime Against Creation: Evangelicals bear witness to mountaintop removal and the destruction of Appalachia.

Going Green: GreenFaith in New Jersey helps congregations take the first steps to environmental action.

Food for Faith: Muslim tradition and charity forge bonds between urban communities and sustainable farms in Illinois.

Ancient Roots: The Teva Learning Center in Connecticut brings environmental education together with Jewish tradition.

Compassion in Action: Green Sangha, a Buddhist community in northern California, leads a campaign to save trees.

Eco-Justice: The Holy Spirit inspires a battle against industrial contamination in small-town Mississippi.

Sacred Celebration: Catholics and Native Americans embrace religious ritual in a struggle to protect New Mexico’s land and water.

Interfaith Power and Light: Across America people of all faiths mount a religious response to global warming.