Vision and Leadership

From our network: Harrisonburg, Virginia

Parkview Mennonite Church

Parkview Mennonite Church has given focused attention to creation care since 2009. This is a large church (by Mennonite standards) with an average attendance of 320. One of their most distinctive actions was the decision to pay climate change reparations for the emissions that the church generates. See their approach to climate emissions.

From our network: Taftsville, Vermont

Taftsville Chapel Mennonite Church

Taftsville Chapel Mennonite Church is a congregation of around 50 active members. They joined MCCN in 2016 and completed the Greener Congregation Scoresheet while applying for MCCN’s Net Zero Energy Grant.

Here are their thoughts on leadership:

We would like to create a creation care committee that crosses all aspects of church life (worship, Christian ed, trustees, etc) so that creation care is considered across the board in planning and decision-making. In this time of searching for a next pastor, we have an opportunity to ask potential candidates how they see creation care fitting into ministry. We’d hope a new pastor could share leadership responsibility in this area and be supportive of growing those gifts from within the congregation.

One visionary action that Taftsville took was to install twice the amount of solar panels that their own building required. Their plan is to use their renewable energy to support other nonprofits in the area, such as a local camp and organizations that winterize and improve the energy efficiency of homes in the area.

From our network: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuqueque Mennonite Church

The folks at Albuquerque have been involved with creation care for many years and it is integrated into all they do. Their projects have included hosting Watershed Way gatherings, analyzing their waste streams, helping make their city bee-friendly and recycling 20 tons of concrete on site. Each year, they sign a covenant that includes this statement:

Together we honor God the Creator by challenging one another to live as partners with the creation.

All the same, when they completed the Greener Congregation Score Sheet in pursuit of a Net Zero Energy Grant, it helped identify some gaps. “We could improve coordination, recognition and evaluation,” they mused. They began thinking about how their various projects could be strengthened through an overall plan.