FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2026
United Church of Christ Clergy Authors Publish Groundbreaking The Canterbury Earth Justice Lectionary
The United Church of Christ celebrates the publication of The Canterbury Earth Justice Lectionary (Canterbury Press, March 31, 2026), authored by two United Church of Christ clergy, Rev. Dr. Robert E. Shore-Goss and Rev. Dr. Sarah J. Melcher. This timely new volume offers congregations a transformative resource for integrating ecological justice into the heart of Christian worship and preaching. Most lectionaries preach salvation without creation. Climate crisis exposes the limits of anthropocentric preaching. It restores the original lectionary integration and connection with Earth seasons of the year.
In an era of accelerating climate crisis, The Canterbury Earth Justice Lectionary equips pastors, church leaders, and lay preachers with a comprehensive, year-long Sunday lectionary and theological commentary that aligns the liturgical calendar with the rhythms of Earth. In addition to weekly readings, the volume provides worship resources for World Wetlands Day, National Bird Day, Earth Day Sunday, and the Season of Creation—helping churches embody their call to care for creation through prayer, proclamation, and public witness.
For the Season of Pentecost and Ordinary time, the lectionary breaks down Pentecost as the Season of Earth justice, September the Season of Creation Covenant, October the Season of Decolonization, and November as Reading in an Age of Extinction.
The lectionary draws deeply from scripture and the living world, inviting congregations to hear the biblical text in dialogue with soil, water, air, and the communities most impacted by environmental injustice. Designed for creation justice parishes and prophetic preaching, this innovative resource empowers churches to become agents of climate justice and caretakers of God’s creation.
Endorsements:
“This monumental undertaking will pay off for decades to come – maybe centuries, since these concerns aren’t going away. The Bible is so woven through with concern for the natural world and the vulnerable who depend on it, and it’s high time we recognized that!” Bill McKibben, Author, “Here Comes the Sun”.
“Worship is the heart of Christian communities, with the lectionary mapping the worship experience. The Canterbury Earth Justice Lectionary brings worship to the ground and tunes the worship experience to the groans and energies of Earth. This is a critical resource for preachers, worshippers, and scholars.” Jione Havea, Adjunct Professor, Biblical and Cultural studies, School of Theology, Charles Sturt University (Australia).
About the Authors
Rev. Dr. Sarah J. Melcher is Professor Emerita of Hebrew Scriptures at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. She holds a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from Emory University and an M.Div. from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. A prolific scholar, she has authored and edited numerous works including Prophetic Disability: Divine Sovereignty and Human Bodies in the Hebrew Bible (Baylor University Press, 2022), World Religions and the Environment (2018), and co-edited The Bible and Disability: A Commentary. An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (Florida Conference), Melcher has served on the Conference Environmental Team and co-founded the Creation Justice Covenant Team at First Congregational UCC in Sarasota, Florida.
Rev. Dr. Robert E. Shore-Goss holds a Th.D. in Comparative Religion and Theology from Harvard University. A long-time UCC pastor, he led the first congregation in the denomination to become a Creation Justice Church that made the Earth a member of the church, reduced its carbon footprint, added 90 solar panels, and won a Green Oscar from California Interfaith & Power for Advocacy, and served for ten years on the UCC Environmental Justice Council. He authored God is Green (2015) and The Insurgency of the Spirit (2020), and co-edited both editions of The Queer Bible Commentary (2006; 2022). Shore-Goss introduced the landmark 2021 UCC General Synod Resolution affirming the Rights of Nature, making the UCC the first mainline Protestant denomination to declare that nature has legal rights alongside corporations and persons. He also led the 2023 UCC Plastic-Free Resolution, later adopted by the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 2024. He served on the New Hampshire and Florida Conferences’ environmental Justice Teams and is a member of Ft. Lauderdale UCC.
A Prophetic Resource for the Church
As the United Church of Christ continues its long-standing commitment to environmental justice and creation care, The Canterbury Earth Justice Lectionary provides a practical and theological framework for worship that responds to today’s ecological realities. It calls congregations not only to pray for the Earth, but to preach, organize, and advocate for systemic change.
The book is available through major booksellers, including Amazon.
About the United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination committed to justice, peace, and care for God’s creation. With a long history of prophetic witness, the UCC continues to equip congregations to live out the Gospel in transformative and life-giving ways.