Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Albuquerque, N.M., now has solar panels that should generate enough kilowatts to cover the church’s total electricity needs. They also have almost all of the outdoor features in place to qualify as a wildlife habitat with the National Wildlife Federation.
The folks at Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries, Oak View, Calif., have installed rain catchment tanks to water the garden. In the coming year, they hope to further develop their yard as a demonstration project for resiliency and native plant literacy.
Columbus Mennonite Church, Columbus, Ohio, has an 1,100-gallon water reclamation tank and rain garden that diverts 100,000 gallons of storm water each year. Read more. They’ve also been working on dinnerware for group meals.
Grace Mennonite Church, Regina, Sask., reports that at a visioning meeting, each committee reflected on ways to actively be part of creation care. They hope to add scripture to their bulletins that will help them focus on creation. They also plan to hold recycling events and learning opportunities on how we can be better stewards of the Earth.
Hyde Park Mennonite Fellowship, Boise, Idaho, has a remodeling project underway. Upgrading bathrooms and installing an elevator has also provided the opportunity to install more energy-efficient fixtures and appliances. They also hope to do some xeriscaping in areas where the landscaping was dug up due to construction.
Peace Mennonite Church, Lawrence, Kan., is busy making their new building addition as environmentally friendly as possible.
Rainbow Mennonite Church, Kansas City, Kan., is planning for solar energy.
The folks at San Antonio Mennonite Church, San Antonio, Tex., have been thinking about issues ranging from the coal industry to environmental refugees, thanks to Creation Care Liaison Joe Cook’s commitment to working against climate change.
Shalom Mennonite Church, Indianapolis, Ind., has a historic property with an undeveloped woods with mature oak trees. They will continue to restore this wooded area and hope to develop a trail for the community to enjoy.
Shalom Mennonite Church, Newton, Kans., hopes to study creation care in the coming year.
Taftsville Chapel Mennonite Fellowship,Taftsville, Vt., is in the midst of an intentional year of creation care. See Heather Wolfe’s story in the April 2017 issue of The Mennonite. In the coming year, they hope to install some native plantings around the church and add a creation care page to their website.
Zion Mennonite Church, Souderton, Pa., has been planting trees. While this was partly to replace fallen or diseased trees, they also hope to soak up some of the excess CO2 in the atmosphere and naturalize their wooded area.