How to green your faith communities with Rev. Dr. Ambrose F. Carroll

When it comes to green careers — and planet-saving vocations — there’s a huge sector many of us overlook: faith traditions. Religious leaders from practically every tradition are now waking up to making climate change central to their theology.

Today, we take a deep dive with Rev. Dr. Ambrose F. Carroll, a pastor at the forefront of a movement to "green the church" — particularly the Black church. His passion for the natural world and climate action led him to found Green the Church, an organization devoted to helping Black Churches become hubs for sustainability and environmentalism.

In the sixth season of Degrees, “How to Green Your Job,” the pastor speaks with host Yesh Pavlik Slenk about his journey toward seeing himself as a steward of the planet and a faith leader. He shares the initial challenges he faced in engaging congregants and colleagues in conversations about environmentalism, and how he set out to "wake up the sleeping giant that is the Black Church." You’ll also hear other faith perspectives on climate action, including Catholicism, Judaism, Islam and Jainism.

Episode notes

Rev. Dr. Ambrose F. Carroll, Sr., is the founder and CEO of Green The Church, a catalyst for environmentalism and sustainability built for and by the Black Church. Pastor Carroll serves on the National Environmental Justice Action Committee for the United States Environmental Protection Agency. He’s also been a fellow with the Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity. He earned his B.A. in psychology from Florida Memorial University in Miami, FL, a Master of Divinity from Morehouse School of Religion in Atlanta, GA, a Master of Business Administration from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, CA, and a Doctor of Divinity from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

Resources from this episode

• Learn more about Green the Church.
• Read Rev. Dr. Ambrose F. Carroll’s bio.
• Watch Pastor Carroll give a sermon about climate change.
• The Van Jones book that inspired Carroll so much, “The Green Collar Economy.”
• Learn more about the Catholic Climate Covenant and Dan Misleh.
• Read the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 2001 plea for dialogue and action on climate change.
• Learn more about Colorado Jewish Climate Action and Moshe Kornfeld.
• Learn more about Green Ramadan and Kori Majeed.
• Read Prof. Atul K. Shah’s bio.
• From Inside Climate News: “Religious Leaders May Be Key to Breaking Climate Action Gridlock, Poll Suggests”
• From The Tennessean: “Uneven Ground: Exceptional Black farmer and their fight to flourish in the South”

If you liked this episode, you'll love these related Degrees episodes:

• Hollywood screenwriter and producer Scott Z. Burns on making climate change central to storytelling
• From mud cakes to high stakes with Youth Climate Collaborative’s Pooja Tilvawala
• Eco-anxiety is fueling a new green career: climate psychology
• Why environmental justice is crucial for today’s climate careers