Case Study

How congregations can demonstrate care of creation as part of our baptismal covenant.
Hope Episcopal Church, Manheim, PA

Tell us about your church or organization and its mission.

Hope Episcopal Church is a vibrant and welcoming faith community rooted in a rich history, beautiful architecture, and a deep commitment to living out the teachings of Jesus Christ. At the heart of its mission is the Great Commandment: to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Our vision is to embody this mission through active stewardship, meaningful worship, thoughtful evangelism, Christian education, compassionate pastoral care, care for creation, and service to those in need. We believe these practices not only strengthen our own spiritual lives but also contribute to the flourishing of our wider community.

Describe your ministry as it relates to creation care. How did your creation care ministry start?

Our creation care journey began with a deep understanding of land stewardship and environmental responsibility as spiritual practice. We started small, forming a creation care committee with a modest budget, and introducing approachable, practical initiatives.

We encouraged congregational participation through simple actions like composting, recycling, and providing branded reusable grocery bags. We also developed a vacation Bible school (VBS) program focused on creation care and woodworking, which allowed children and families to engage with environmental stewardship in a hands-on, meaningful way.

The key was starting with formation and discipleship, creating opportunities for people to connect with the land and each other. This naturally led to evangelism, as people became excited about the work and began inviting friends to participate. We didn't focus on complex theological explanations, but on creating joyful, tangible experiences of caring for God’s creation.

This eventually led our congregation to develop relationships with environmentally focused partners such as the Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake. These partnerships enabled us to take larger steps, such as installing a rain garden on our property, to better capture, treat, and infiltrate stormwater runoff. Rain gardens and other bioretention efforts will help to reduce flooding, improve water quality, and offer various ecological benefits in our area. Learn more about our clean-water initiative in this video, “Rain Garden Celebration 2025.”

Resources

More about creation care at Hope Episcopal Church: https://hopeepiscopal.org/creation-care/