After being named the overall winner of the 2025 Climate Hope Art Contest for children/youth of the United Church of Christ, 11-year-old Natalie Slade; her mother, Emily; as well as staff from the UCC National Ministries, visited Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and the offices of several congressional members.
Slade, who attends Bethlehem UCC in Evansville, Indiana will have her artwork serve as the logo for the Climate Hope campaign in 2025. Entries were sent in by 140 churches, representing 33 states across the U.S., with 541 artists participating with Pennsylvania leading the pack with the most zip codes.
“I really love to draw, and this was a good way to showcase my artistic abilities,” said Slade. The theme for this year’s contest was “Planting Seeds of Hope” and artists were instructed to draw something that could symbolize this in art form.
The Rev. Brooks Berndt, Minister for Environmental Justice, said any time he’s shared Slade’s artwork with congregations, he sees how much it helps them have renewed faith in their own ministries.
“Natalie’s art is a seed of hope in itself. It lifts up people’s spirits. It touches them and motivates them to plant their own seeds of hope,” Berndt said.
As an award for winning the contest, Slade and her mom travelled with Susan Mueller, Climate Hope Campaign Organizer, to the nation’s capitol to visit congressional offices. Once there, the group was able to have a 30-minute meeting with Sen. Todd Young, Slade’s senator from Indiana.
Mueller said she was inspired by the conversation, and the importance of sharing the urgency of reform in the climate change space with lawmakers.
The UCC’s Susan Mueller, a staff member of Senator Jim Banks’ office, Climate Hope Art Contest winner Natalie Slade and her mother Emily Slade.
“[Natalie] shared her art, a Bible with a seed of hope blossoming into the rainbow of life, with Senator Young and congressional staff, reminding them of our call to care for creation,” Mueller said. “It was a joy to see her speak with such grace, and to watch our voices of hope reach the halls of power.”
Slade says kids her age can start caring for the Earth with small projects like recycling or picking up trash whenever they see it.
“We only have one Earth, and we need to take care of it for future generations to come,” Slade said.
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