All across the U.S., people of faith are joining (and, in many cases, spearheading) Earth Day celebrations in their communities. Around the country, ecumenical services and gatherings are happening just as they are in Georgia and New Hampshire. The interfaith group EarthKeepers are planting thousands of trees in Michigan while Boston-area Unitarians have accepted the challenge to decrease their carbon footprints. Similar stories abound.

In a report published today, the 39th anniversary of Earth Day, the Center for American Progress looks at the bigger picture:

Religious communities across the country are celebrating Earth Day every day this year by taking long-term, sustainable steps to help reduce global warming. Faith communities are greening their houses of worship and advocating for policies and lifestyles that protect the planet and its most vulnerable inhabitants, joining scientists, policymakers and environmental advocates as good stewards of God's creation.

The CAP report, which details 21 important ways America's faithful are fighting climate change, really gets the point: Americans expressing the principles/values of their faith through caring for the planet is no longer a novelty storyline. Just a few of the examples which have crossed the newswire lately:

A new coalition of Catholic groups has launched the Catholic Climate Covenant, a campaign designed to encourage legislators to "pass prudent legislation that takes into account the needs of the common good, specifically the poor whom they say are affected most by climate change."

FPL and Oxfam are releasing a new poll tomorrow showing religious voters' concern for climate change and its effects on the world's poor. Also, a new Congressional coalition focused on prioritizing the most vulnerable communities affected by climate change will be introduced.

Interfaith Power and Light is conducting lobbying and adaptation efforts in 28 states, from California to North Carolina.

A coalition of Christians, Jews and Muslims in Utah has taken the initiative to lobby their senators for greater protection of their state's wilderness areas.

Churches in Texas are taking practical measures to reduce their environmental impact, doing everything from installing solar panels and energy-saving light bulbs (is there a joke yet about how many parishioners it takes to change an energy-efficient light bulb?) to giving away such light bulbs with the groceries they dispense in their food pantries.

Evangelical leader Rich Cizik recently spoke to a group of "Muslims, Sikhs, Jews and Christians," telling them "the tinder is dry, the condition is right" for interfaith ecological action, the Christian Post reported.

In a recent Newsweek article, Restoring Eden leader Peter Illyn discussed what it takes to engage congregations in environmental justice:

We look at the church and the core conversations that they're having. The church talks about ideas of justice, building faith and trying to live a life that's somewhat sacrificial. We look at that and think, how can we weave the environment into the conversation the church is already having?

Congregations all across the country are having these conversations. They are having an appreciable, essential impact on the planet simply by living out their faith. While the Earth Day, every day adage may seem cliche by now, caring for creation truly is an everyday reality for America's faithful.