A Rocha USA
Share
We are Christians in conservation with a mission to live out God’s calling to care for creation and equip others to do likewise. 🌱
A Rocha USA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is a national community of Christians working in conservation to protect and restore vulnerable habitats, species, and communities. Our programs and conservation projects focus on applied scientific research, environmental and theological education, and environmental action. Our key areas of work in the USA are marine conservation, climate action, and habitat preservation. As a part of the worldwide family of A Rocha organizations that span over 20 countries, we are committed to restoring people and places by providing resources and community for those interested in biodiversity conservation and caring for all of God’s creation.
Just over 20 years ago, the term "microplastics" was invented. In July, we hosted microplastics scientist Dr. Jenni Brandon (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) to explore questions about microplastic pollution and what they mean for God's creation. 🌊🔎
At A Rocha, we believe creation care means responding to all of it: not just how plastic affects us, but how it affects the ecosystems and creatures God called "good."
🎥 Watch the full webinar here: https://youtu.be/hLw6ZkWC7xE?si=TuqAQdqQ-5mOS1pu
At our Nashville Churches of Restoration retreat, we had faith leaders gather not only from Nashville, but from East Tennessee and Kentucky. We were Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Stone-Campbell Christians, all united by our care for God's creation. 💚🌏
"Many parts, yet one body" (1 Cor. 12:12-20), we encouraged each other in pursuing habitat restoration, waste reduction, and creation-conscious spiritual formation. 🌱⛪ We are excited to support the five represented churches in their creation care projects this coming year!
Many thanks to the for letting us gather in their scenic and whimsical North Wind Manor. We also thank Gretchen Abernathy of St. Bartholomew's () for sharing about her congregation's inspiring waste reduction and creation-conscious spiritual formation initiatives.
09/19/2026
How can we tend the soil so as to bless both humans and the more-than-human creation? 🌾💚🧑🌾 For our community in Nashville, we invite you to explore this question with other faith leaders at the Food and Faith "Coffee and Chat" gathering.
We are helping to host this event at 7:30am CT on Thursday, September 24, at the West End location of Otter Creek Church. There, you'll make valuable connections with other Christians involved with sustainable agriculture, food distribution, and food security advocacy in Middle TN. ⛪🍅
Learn more and register using the following link!
Coffee and Chat Registration: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMt5aWTw4-MiF9Z0gi_7EUvILZfXLna2WeMdPvd95HqWneZA/viewform
📸 Photo 2: Food and Faith Collective leaders at our 2026 conference.
Society of St. Andrew The Nashville Food Project
09/17/2026
Conservation doesn't just happen in pristine contexts over large swaths of land. As our Chicagoland Churches of Restoration learned, it can happen on the banks of a struggling river with a history of industrial pollution and sewage runoff.
The team at Urban Rivers gave us a tour of their Wild Mile project along the Chicago River in July, with fascinating tidbits on mussel mating habits, how their floating eco-parks work, and even insight into the personalities of the beaver family that has made its home here.
We left feeling so inspired by our tour guide Stephen's love of this particular place and motivated to return home to notice the weird, beautiful aspects of our own places and love them well.
09/16/2026
We are deeply saddened to share that Jonathan Wilson, a dear friend to many in the A Rocha family, died on Saturday 12 September.
Jonathan’s love for nature was first cultivated during his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. Later, while living in Vancouver, Canada, he became actively involved with A Rocha Canada’s BC Environmental Centre. Alongside his wife, Soohwan Park—who served as Chair of Trustees for A Rocha International for several years—Jonathan played a vital role in A Rocha’s global story.
Memorial Service Details:
Date & Time: Saturday, October 3, at 3:00 PM PT
Location: West Point Grey Baptist Church (livestream available)
Read more about Jonathan's life, watch the livestream, or make a gift in his memory: https://arocha.org/en/jonathan-wilson/
Most communion wafers today are made in factories, never touched by human hands until they reach the altar. But Betsy King-McDonald and Zion Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor recently grew their own wheat, from seed to flour to bread, as part of Betsy's DMin project. 🌱🌾🍞
It's a beautiful picture of “refugia”: spaces of shelter and resilience where creation (and community) can survive and even thrive amid chaos and disturbance. For Betsy, tending the soil is part of her faith, lived out from field to table.
🎥 Watch the full conversation on our YouTube: https://youtu.be/Sp9aHytJXhk to hear how growing communion wheat is reshaping the way this community understands sacrament, land, and each other.
This is a part of our “Refugia Series”, made possible through the Lilly Endowment's Thriving Congregations grant, featuring Ron and Debra Rienstra's Refugia DMin cohort from Western Theological Seminary.
09/14/2026
Mark your calendars and join us for the International Coastal Cleanup on September 19th!
"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." (Psalm 24:1). God cares about how we treat creation, and we invite you all to play a part in cleaning up litter in the places you love and care for.
Whether you attend an A Rocha cleanup or host one of your own, all of the resources you need are located in our Plastics Toolbox. If you, your family, or your church are looking for resources to combat plastic pollution close to home, our toolbox contains resources for science, lifestyle, education, and theology.
Check it out 👉 https://resources.arocha.org/resource/plastics-toolbox/
09/12/2026
We firmly believe that God has designed humanity and the rest of creation to experience mutual flourishing. One of the ways we support this is through the Food and Faith Collective in Nashville, TN. Through sustainable agriculture and church networking, this collective seeks to alleviate hunger throughout the city. In short, they love their neighbor by loving the soil. 🌾💚🧑🌾
For our community in Nashville, we invite you to join us at the Food and Faith "Coffee and Chat" gathering at 7:30am CT on Thursday, September 24, at the West End location of Otter Creek Church. ☕⛪ There, you'll make valuable connections with other church leaders involved with sustainable agriculture, food distribution, and food security advocacy in Middle TN.
Learn more and register using the following link!
Coffee and Chat Registration: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMt5aWTw4-MiF9Z0gi_7EUvILZfXLna2WeMdPvd95HqWneZA/viewform
09/11/2026
Introducing our new Executive & Development Assistant and Florida Conservation Coordinator, Christian Johnston! 🌿
Christian grew up exploring the pine woods of Georgia, where his grandmother first encouraged his love for plants and the natural world. Since then, he's lived along Alaska's Kenai River, done ministry work in Poland, and now calls South Florida home. He studied International Relations at Florida International University, and he's bringing that background, along with a love for people and place, to help grow our work and protect Florida's wild spaces. Along his journey, he's come to care about the environment both close to home and abroad.
Welcome to the team, Christian! We're so glad you're here. Excited to have your passion and expertise on our team.
This church on Chicago's South Side does communion a little differently.
The individual cups are carved from Palestinian olive wood. The serving pottery was made by hand in Michigan. Pastor David W. Swanson explains why they chose these specific materials, and what it means for a multiracial congregation to share one loaf and one cup.
These are small changes, but they form the congregation's understanding of creation, stewardship, worship, and place. ✝️🍷🍞
Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/JgXHGdTCKI0?si=6F-ttlnYwTGsBTZg
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.