The activities are among those that churches are holding to coincide with the 38th annual celebration of Earth Day, which falls on Tuesday.

Earth Day is no longer a holiday just for "greenies" or "hippies," and faith communities are among those honoring the Earth, not just on Earth Day, but throughout the year.

Tomorrow, members of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Annapolis will reflect on their connections with the environment and consider eating more locally-grown food. Across town, St. Anne's Parish will hold an eco-celebration.

For many faith communities, picking up on eco-themes is part of respecting and protecting God's creation.

Many Christian churches trace their environmental work to the Book of Genesis, in which God creates the Earth and mankind, as well as the Psalms, which are full of praise for God and his creation.

"God created the earth and gave it to humans to take care of," said the Rev. Angela Shepherd, rector of St. Philip's. "If we don't take our responsibility to think of those who come after us, what a selfish way to live life."

In addition to the rain garden, St. Philip's offers paper recycling for members. The next project will be replacing old light bulbs with new, energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.

The Unitarian Universalist Church has done so many environmental projects that a few years ago it earned designation as a "Green Sanctuary" from the national organization.

Judy Graham has been involved in environmental efforts at the church, including heading up the effort to plant a rain garden that drains and filters stormwater runoff from the parking lot.

"We're all responsible for the world and everything is connected, everything has consequences ... We all need to take care of the world. It's our home," she said.

Likewise, Arnold resident Lisa Gilbert has been working to spread the environmental message at First Presbyterian Church in Annapolis.

The Gilbert family members have been longtime recyclers who also raise oysters and are putting in a nitrogen-reducing septic system. They were spurred to do even more after seeing the film "An Inconvenient Truth."

The growing environmental awareness in the Gilbert family coincided with Mrs. Gilbert becoming a trustee at First Presbyterian.

And around the same time, a guest speaker before the church trustees imparted the message that not only are trustees responsible for the church itself, but "You're also a steward for the gifts God has given you," Mrs. Gilbert recalled.

Everything clicked and Mrs. Gilbert set about trying to convince her fellow church members that First Presbyterian needed to be greened up. Last year, she arranged for Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer to give a slide show presentation on "An Inconvenient Truth."

Now she's suggesting the church consider greener options: organic gardening, improved recycling, eco-tips in the church bulletin, maybe even geothermal heating and cooling.

"I feel it's important - every small change we make can lead to a bigger impact," she said. "I feel it's something we have a responsibility to do as Christians."

Quakers who belong to the Annapolis Friends Meeting have struggled to cope with how to accommodate their growing membership in a responsible and environmental way, said Barbara Thomas of Deale, who is the group's clerk, a position akin to a coordinator or trustee.

A "growing and greening" committee is learning about porous pavers, geothermal energy, solar power and more in preparation for a likely expansion of the building.

"The famous Quaker saying that guides us is: 'There's that of God in every person.' So you want to be sure not to hurt God's children or offend God's creation," she said.

The trend of churches going green isn't unique to the Annapolis area. National church organizations have spoken out on issues such as global warming and reducing pollution.

Faith leaders ranging from Pope Benedict XVI to those in the Southern Baptist Convention have called on their members to get active in environmental causes.

Local Catholics are heeding the pope's call. St. Mary's Catholic Church in downtown Annapolis applied for a grant to control stormwater runoff from the parking lot. And at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, there will be a special Mass focused on the environment with discussion afterward at 5 p.m. tomorrow.

But not all faith leaders agree on the issues.

Last month, some evangelical leaders signed on to a letter to U.S. senators urging them to reject a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions. In the letter they said the trading system would produce little positive environmental effect while having negative effects on the economy and the poor.

Unitarian Universalist practice reflects a slightly different view than some other religions.

Rather than having responsibility over the Earth, Unitarian Universalists see themselves as part of the Earth. One of the seven principles of Unitarian Universalism is: "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part."

Despite the differing philosophies, the end result is similar: the Unitarian Universalist church has an array of projects aimed at improving the environment and raising awareness among members.

"For the vast majority of Unitarian Universalists, they understand our relationship to nature and the ramifications of what that means," said the Rev. Fred Muir of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis. "Things are always in flux and changing. We are a part of nature and not masters of nature."