Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

As we approach Earth Day – which falls on Good Friday this year - the fragility of our earth and the global impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan have been very much on my mind. Living equidistant from two aging nuclear reactors, I’ve been following the status of Japan’s severely damaged nuclear reactors and the spread of radioactive material. Recently I learned that trace amounts of radioactive iodine, linked to Japan’s crippled nuclear power station, have turned up in local (Massachusetts) rainwater samples. The world is indeed a small place.

The four articles added to the March/April edition of Vestry Papers: Caring for Creation focus on actions congregations and other faith groups can take to honor and protect the Earth while at the same time building relationships in their community. Returning author Fletcher Harper notes, “More and more people believe that protecting Creation is a religious value. And yet, congregations have not taken many of the basic steps to develop an ongoing environmental ministry.”

At Vestry Papers, we hope these new articles help congregations interested in environmental engagement take those first steps. Articles include:

• Timothy Goldman’s “Meeting God in a Faith Garden,” the story of the transformation of one parishioner’s labor of love into St. Timothy’s Faith & Grace Garden, an intergenerational community ministry, supplying fresh produce to local food pantries and the area food bank.
• “Mayordomía Ambiental” offered in Spanish, Mario Rodríguez’s reflection on the theological imperitives calling us to save our planet from the abuses and excesses of the human race.
• Fletcher Harper’s “Greening Our Faith – Putting Belief into Action,” a menu of opportunities designed to help congregational leaders take the first steps towards developing an ongoing environmental ministry.
• “Faith in Action,” the story of how Messiah-St. Bartholomew’s Development Center partnered with Chicago municipal and advocacy agencies to expand its services to include a community garden program.

Other resources related to congregational engagement in Caring for Creation include recent Vital Posts blogs by Anne Ditzler, “Transition Towns…and Churches,” Miguel Escobar “Blessing (and welcoming) the bikes,” and me “Earth Hour 2011: Turn Out the Lights.”

During April we’ve scheduled two VP Talks related to mission and sustainability. On Tuesday, April 5 at 7:00 pm ET, Thomas Brackett, missioner for church planting, will join us for “Making the Move,’ exploring the how and why congregational leaders might consider moving from a ‘church shaped mission’ to a ‘mission shaped church.’

On Thursday, April 14 at 1:00 pm ET, Tracey Lind, dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland and Richard Horton, chair of Trinity’s Green Team offer, “Creating a Sustainable Community.” They’ll share how they are using sustainability as a tool for evangelism and church growth as well as an economic engine for the rebuilding of a city and region, and the faith community’s role in that rebuilding.

Upcoming Vestry Papers themes include: ‘Caring for Each Other,’ ‘Connecting Generations,’ and ‘New Models of Financial Sustainability.’ I’m interested in hearing your successes and your challenges as they relate to each theme and welcome your ideas and suggestions for content and potential contributors. Email me at ndavidge@episcopalfoundation.org.