Oslo, Norway - "Thou shalt not contribute to global warming": from the local pastor to the highest ranking bishop, the Lutheran Church of Norway has pulled out all the stops in a modern-day crusade to save the planet.
In a bid to help reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, the Church has installed bicycle racks outside its churches, turned down the thermostat indoors and is even holding special prayers for the environment.
The measures are part of the Church's efforts to help Norway achieve its goal to become the world's first "carbon-neutral" country by 2050, meaning it will have to reduce its own emissions and offset any leftovers by investing in Kyoto Protocol-style projects that reduce pollution in other countries.
"The Church has always been involved in social and ethical causes," Norwegian Environment Minister Helen Bjoernoey, herself a pastor by profession, told AFP.
"It was very involved in the fight against apartheid and in the fight against poverty. So it's natural for it to be involved in the most important issue of the moment: the climate," she said.
As part of the United Nations' World Environment Day on June 5, which will be hosted by the Norwegian Arctic city of Tromsoe, the Church of Norway has instituted a "Creation Day" mass to be celebrated around the country.
Each parish has been asked to present a special liturgy for the occasion.
"We acknowledge that we, who are created in your image, have been blinded by greed, and have disturbed the fine threads of interdependence, which keep in balance the currents of the oceans, the systems of the weather, the sunshine and the rain," the contrition reads.
Also as part of World Environment Day festivities, South Africa's retired Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu will criss-cross the planet to give a ecumenical mass for the climate on June 3 in Tromsoe.
"We all have to share the same cause, whether we are Protestant, lay, Muslim or Buddhist. It's everyone's responsibility to leave acceptable living conditions for future generations," Bjoernoey said.
The Church is trying to raise awareness daily among its parishioners about the risks of climate change, all the while trying to reduce its own CO2 emissions.
It attributes a "green parish" label to congregations that meet certain requirements, including using paper on both sides, recycling waste, thrifty purchasing of supplies, offering open-air religious services or holding a sermon on the environment at least once a year.
"In the Bible, man is not the master of nature but its protector. He must use it respectfully," says Hans-Juergen Schorre, in charge of social issues for the Church of Norway.
Proving their commitment to the cause, four pastors biked the 480 kilometers (300 miles) of hilly roads linking the southwestern town of Bergen to Oslo in 2005, in a bid to get employers to subsidise bicycle trips to and from work the same way they pay for car trips.
"Pastors are key people because their role is to change behaviour. That's a hard thing to do but we need to prove that everybody can contribute by setting attainable goals," says Ingeborg Midttoemme, head of the Federation of Pastors.
Despite its good intentions, the Church of Norway is not always consistent: part of its funds, managed by a separate body, are invested in oil companies and the airlines, two sectors known for the damage they cause to the climate.
But then Norway itself is a bit of a paradox: on the one hand it wants to become "carbon neutral" by 2050, and on the other hand it is one of the world's biggest oil exporters.