Project Description

Sermon Guides

Creation Care Sermons from A Rocha Canada’s Team

  1. Christ, Creation, and Christian Mission by Rick Faw – “For what aspect of the Christian life do you have a particular burden?”
  2. Creation Care as Mission by Markku Kostamo – “Soil + God’s Breath = Living Soul”
  3. Our Place in Creation by David Anderson – “The foundation of our relationship with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is humility.”
  4. The Earth is the Lord’s and Everything In It! by Samuel Chiu – “When we talk about conservation or creation care, the first thing we have to emphasize is, ‘Whose earth is this?’”
  5. Food and Faith by Matt Humphrey – “An alternative way of eating.”

Books by A Rocha Authors

Planted: A Story of Creation, Calling, and Community | Leah Kostamo

Planted is not a “how to” book, but a “how so” book in which the reader is invited to travel with Leah Kostamo, A Rocha Canada co-founder, on the wild ride of salmon saving, stranger welcoming, and God worshiping as she and her husband Markku helped establish the first Christian environmental center in Canada.

A Place at the Table: Faith, Hope, and Hospitality | Jo Swinney and Miranda Harris

Structured around the stages of a meal, this book is written in part by Miranda Harris (co-founder of A Rocha), whose tragic death in 2019 was a shock to many around the world, who found her approach to hospitality and community a life-long inspiration. Miranda’s daughter, Jo Swinney, writes alongside her to explore the transformative way in which sharing food is at the heart of a shared life.

Planetwise: Dare to Care for God’s World | Dave Bookless

Written by Dave Bookess, A Rocha International Director of Theology, Planetwise is not another book on green issues to make you feel guilty. In these pages you will find solid biblical theology and, most importantly, hope that God can take your small and insignificant efforts and multiply them in his great plan to “reconcile all things unto Himself.” Besides honoring him, living simply can be an exciting adventure.

Since its publication in 2008, Planetwise has been translated into French, German, Chinese, Dutch, Spanish, Korean, and Japanese.

Making a World of Difference | Dave Bookless

Our world is not as it was created to be; from environmental decay, suffering, and political extremism, to conflict, poverty, and social and economic instability. But God is calling us, the church, to respond to this! Making a World of Difference tells you why, shows you how, and gives you hope that you can make a world of difference. It includes solid, biblical teaching on key topics – such as the climate and nature emergencies – and offers a theology of justice. It is complete with carefully crafted discussion questions for one person or a small group to use.

This short book is free for download, and also available in French, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese, through Renew Our World – Resources

Under the Bright Wings | Peter Harris

Under the Bright Wings tells the story of how Peter and Miranda Harris founded A Rocha in the Algarve, Portugal in 1983. “In the developing ministry of A Rocha an exciting, contemporary form of Christian mission has come alive.” – The Rev Dr John Stott

Kingfisher’s Fire: A Story of Hope for God’s Earth | Peter Harris

A Rocha’s co-founder Peter Harris painstakingly retells in these two books the story of A Rocha, from one field study centre in Portugal to a family of wonderfully varied community conservation projects in eighteen countries. Under the Bright Wings covers the first ten years of pioneering and establishing the movement, and Kingfisher’s Fire recounts the rapid expansion of the second decade, with many wonderful stories of remarkable people, tears, laughter, and vision.

Doing Good Without Giving Up: Sustaining Social Action in a World that’s Hard to Change | Ben Lowe

Ben Lowe, Executive Director of A Rocha USA, explores the Christian’s call to follow Christ and do good in the world, even when success does not seem achievable. Not solely creation care focused. Includes study questions.

Postcards from the Middle East: How our family fell in love with the Arab world | Chris Naylor

Chris and Susanna Naylor set off for a new life in the Arab world – living first in Kuwait, then Jordan and finally Lebanon, where they began the works of A Rocha in the Middle East. In a region never far from the news, they discovered their expectations – of war, terrorism, desert sand dunes, men in white robes and veiled women, camels and Kalashnikovs, indeed their own reasons for being there – were to be constantly challenged. As they found out, the reality bore little resemblance to their pre-conceptions. Postcards from the Middle East is a tale of love from one family’s experiences: a story of work, schooling, friendships, worship and shared family life, lived out in precious communities against a back drop of world-changing events and spectacular scenery.

Chris Naylor served as the Executive Director of A Rocha International, until his and his wife Susannah’s tragic death in 2019.