Earth Care Committee (A Message from Pastor Paul)

In Genesis 1:28-30 God’s first commandment to Adam and Eve is to rule over creation. Today this means caring for the Earth and all of the plants and animals that live here. As a congregation we have been quietly carrying out this commandment for years, by renovating our heating and cooling system, recycling, and promoting environmentally friendly projects to our youth. During one of my recent sermons, I stressed how important it is for us as Christians to care for the environment, and I suggested that we look into the PCUSA’s “Earth Care Congregations Program.” This program provides resources for churches to evaluate their impact on the environment and the larger global community. We conduct a self-environmental audit, and look for ways to lessen our negative impact on the world, improve our efficiency, and provide positive outreach to others. When we finish this process, we will receive official recognition from the PCUSA. In essence, becoming an Earth Care Congregation would be formally declaring what we already do. Our Session has agreed to join me in this process and so the next step is to form a small committee to lead us through this program. We are looking for 2-3 volunteers to be on our Earth Care Committee. Much of the work is already done, so committee members would only have to meet when necessary, and their main responsibilities would include compiling the data from our environmental audit, filling out the Earth Care Congregation application, and suggesting environmental improvements to our church. If you are interested in joining this important ministry please let Pastor Paul or Alyssa know. For more information, please visit: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/environment/earth-care-congregations/