Creation Care News
Summer 2022
The Creation Care Task Force is looking forward to welcoming all of our diocesan communities to engage in a discussion of two critical areas of ministry. The first is June 30 at 7 p.m. the second is the formation of the NetZero checklist that will be presented as the working document and addendum to R-6 (Climate Emergency resolution passed November 2021). There will be more information on this within the next few weeks.
Please join us on June 30 at 7 p.m. for a conversation on Eco-Grief:
Creation Care Conversation on Climate Change
June 30, 7:00 p.m. via zoom
The Annual Convention of the Diocese of Virginia passed a Resolution (R6) which articulated concerns about climate change. Included in R6 is the following:
Resolved that the Convention recognizes that the Church is called to respond in this moment to the unique psychological and spiritual suffering of all people in response to ecological crisis, and the breakdown of preconceived expectations of the future, and urges faith leaders and congregations to welcome the suffering stranger and the poor in spirit through peer groups, listening and support for those confronting and working through Eco-Grief
Please join the Creation Care Task Force in a virtual meeting via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81764854557. We want to hear your thoughts on this subject and suggestions of ways the Task Force can begin to address this issue. We welcome you to the conversation.
If you would like a member of the task force to visit your church, please email us.
We look forward to hearing from you and working with you to celebrate and steward God’s creation.
May 2022
Earth Month Happenings
Thank you to all who have been reaching out to the Task Force with questions, information on events both during Earth Month and events in the future.
Good News Garden at St. George's
Gardeners from the Good News Garden at St. Anne's in Reston hosted a Garden Sharing Table on Sunday, May 8, Mother's Day. Parishioners brought fresh greens and radishes from their gardens along with extra pots, gloves, seeds, tomato plants, and tools to share with the congregation at large after the 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. services. Flowers and a number of decorative garden plants were also available.
The event coincided with the launch of St. Anne's new outdoor coffee hour, so a good crowd was on hand. The garden ideas and garden memories that were shared were probably more important than the plants and items passed along. So many parishioners had fond memories of Lily of the Valley! Fortunately, several pots of that plant were on hand and were all given away.
The event served to highlight the importance of creation care, and the Good News Gardeners expect to repeat it in mid-summer and again in the fall as the harvests come in. Meanwhile, on the afternoon of Sunday, June 12, they are planning a garden party featuring poetry and music with a summer theme. If you're in the area, stop by from 4 to 6 p.m. to enjoy some refreshments, as well as "In and English Country Garden," played by the church brass, and an "Inch by Inch" sing-along.
Earth Month Events in Review
There were three events that task force members participated in this month. On April 23, there were events at St. Dunstan’s, McLean, St. Peter’s in the Woods, Fairfax Station, and St. James', Warrenton. Task Force member Nancy Searby lead a Holy Hike that celebrated the Memorial Garden, St. Francis outdoor chapel, a rain barrel and a food garden. St. Peter’s in the Woods celebrated Earth Day in the Woods from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. featuring information tables on native plants, composting, children’s table and the Bluebird nest boxes, in addition to a meditation hike, nature journaling and a bird walk where participants used Merlin ID to listen for and identify birds. On April 24, Rev. Dr. Jean Wright with Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions spoke to the congregation on advocacy in the time of climate emergency to the St. Peter’s in the Woods congregation after the 10 a.m. service. Task Force member, Kathy Ellis reported on their Green Team’s successful E-Car Show which featured 3 hybrids: a Chevrolet Volt, a 2008 Prius, and a 2012 Prius. We had 2 all-electric vehicles: new Tesla and Mini-Cooper.
NetZero Working Group
This working group is nearing the completion of a first draft of a check list that can help churches begin moving towards NetZero. Also being discussed are tools to measure metrics. If you are interested in joining the discussion, please contact us at DOVA.CCTF@gmail.com. The metrics and checklist will be presented to the Bishop for review and approval before these documents will be presented as an addendum to Resolution 6 (R-6) passed during the 227th diocesan Convention last year.
Garden Working Group
The next meeting is May 16 with guest speaker, Lee Hanchey, Community Garden manager at All Soul’s, Mechanicsville. The garden was just celebrated in the local newspaper on its 10th year anniversary. Please visit the Creation Care calendar for the Zoom link.
Church Visits
Task Force Chair Stacey Remick-Simkins will be guest speaker at Trinity, Charlottesville, on May 8, and will be co-presenting with Task Force member Sharon Wayne at St. James's, Richmond, on May 22. If you would like her to visit your parish, please email her at DOVA.CCTF@gmail.com.
April 2022
New Website
The Creation Care Task Force (CCTF) is indebted to Erin Kamran who has helped us manage the CCTF website and worked patiently with us to redesign the site so that it is more useful and easy to navigate. We now have a calendar there that you can check for events and links to those events. Visit our webpages.
In The Garden – Garden Working Group Ministry
February 21, 2022 marked the first meeting of the Creation Care Task Force Garden Working Group facilitated by the Rev. Deacon Courtenay Evans, which was attended by 30 people from around the Diocese. Churches from Reston, Fairfax Station, Earlysville, Charlottesville, Stanardsville, Springfield and Vienna were represented. They hosted their second meeting March 21 and will begin hosting meetings with guest speakers and discussions about best practices. They meet every third Monday night at 7 p.m. via Zoom. For more information, please contact Courtenay Evans. The meetings are posted on our web calendar with Zoom links.
Parish of the Month
The Community Garden at All Souls, Mechanicsville, was featured in the Mechanicsville Local.
