OUR COMMITMENT AND JOURNEY TO CARE FOR GOD’S CREATION
For many years, our church has had an unwritten covenant to be a “green church” as a way to express our respect and reverence for God’s creation and to preserve it. To help us establish this identity, we have put these opportunities into place:
- Offered gardeners plots in a community garden
- Designed and led Peace with Justice and Earth Day worship services
- Used china and silverware at our social events rather than paper and plastic
- Advocated for preparing and eating plant-based meals providing recipes
- Installed LED lighting throughout the building
- Signed up for renewable energy with MG&E
- Outfitted the south side of our church roof with solar panels, and transferred our unused renewable energy to MG&E
- Established a food forest with help from Emily Steinwehe, who works with the Wisconsin Food Forests Project in Madison
- Planted a variety of plants this summer in a 60 x 10-foot rain garden to prevent flooding and reduce toxic run-off from our property
- Highlighted how to appropriately recycle plastics, including water bottles
- Hosted and led environmentally focused events for adults and children
- Written climate justice articles for our newsletter
Guided by the United Methodist Social Principles, we have been establishing our identity as a church that has committed to care for God’s creation in what may be small, but are nevertheless determined, ways. We believe that small steps matter and can lead us to larger ones.
One of our hopes is that the community of Monona will recognize our congregation’s commitment to creation care, will celebrate these small steps with us, and may even join us in some of this work.
