The Care for God’s Creation (CfGC) committee advocates for environmental stewardship as part of our Christian calling. Concerned about the global climate emergency and drawing from a range of approaches through our diversity, we commit to form and restore loving, liberating, life-giving relationships with all of Creation.
We aim to put the Episcopal Covenant to Care of Creation into practice on different levels. The grid provided below guides us in our ministry.
EPISCOPAL COVENANT TO CARE OF CREATION
Loving Formation
Through Loving Formation, we grow our love for the Earth and for all of life through reading and reflection, teaching and learning, sharing stories, being outdoors, and prayer.
- We participate in Grace Garden, an interfaith inclusive community garden behind Davis United Methodist Church. We provide fresh organic vegetables and fruit to Davis Community Meals and Housing as well as Grace in Action. Grace Garden video link here.
- Spirituality in Nature Group (SiNG) seeks to deepen our relationship to the Holy in nature as a community. We meet monthly at different locations for an activity around a Scriptural theme, a reading, discussion, and reflection. The Center for Spirituality in Nature curriculum is being used.
- We promote development of an outdoor space by the chalkboard on our grounds to be a welcoming area as a living classroom and a church without walls.
Liberating Advocacy
Through Liberating Advocacy, we stand alongside marginalized and vulnerable people by advocating and acting to repair Creation by seeking the liberation and flourishing of all people. Lay leadership is empowered to work in partnership with local and regional groups in developing a land-based ministry, i.e. an approach to ministry that considers the land, including its history, uses, original inhabitants, ecosystem health, and environmental threats, to be a key component of the church’s mission of reconciliation and especially of any efforts to advance social justice.
- We host an annual Seeds of Justice speaker series to teach about the long history and practices of Native Americans and the too-often fatal encounters they and other people of color have experienced in our region. We include presentations on such subjects as how environmental injustice and harm to our ecology can cause physical distress and disabilities.
- A Multimedia Resource on our website allows the teachings from the Seeds of Justice program to extend year-round. Emphasis is on “StorySharing” or the practice of telling and receiving stories around things that matter most, including faith, race, difference, creation, and justice.
- We partner with Yolo Climate Emergency Coalition (YCEC), a Cool Davis working group, to support the county’s Climate Action Plan. We seek Just Transition in dealing with the critical intersection of climate change, poverty and inequality, and biodiversity loss.
Life-Giving Conservation
Through Life-Giving Conservation, we seek to roll back damage to Creation so all may flourish. We seek ways to live more humbly and gently on our Earth.
- We became a Net-Zero Carbon Neutral church campus and was recognized by InterFaith Power and Light (IPL) in 2021. Bishop Megan Traquair blessed our solar panels in a special ceremony in April and urged us to continue adopting practical ways of reducing our climate impact by favoring clean, safe, and renewable energy.
- We partner with Yolo Interfaith Alliance for Climate Justice (YIACJ), whose mission is to inspire faith communities to work together to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, educate ourselves on climate issues and speak out for climate justice. Meetings are on the 2nd Thursdays of the month at 1:00. All are welcome.
- We are rewilding and restoring part of an almond farm at Forbes Ranch to be a place of racial reconciliation, retreat, and spiritual renewal. Valley Oak trees have been planted to become a grove for a workshop and learning space. An open arbor overlooking the sacred hills will be a central gathering place for Native American dances and spiritual growth. More native plants will be planted to help restore an ecosystem with native flora and wildlife.
- Sample gardening methods are modeled on the church campus to inspire home gardeners to be water-wise and to increase soil sequestration, ex. a Three Sisters garden (2021) and a straw bale garden (2022).
CfGC gratefully recognizes gifts from the following: Episcopal Bishop’s Book of Dreams 2020 and Episcopal Community Services in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
CfGC meets the second Monday of the month. We welcome you to join us in our stewardship work and efforts to reduce environmental injustice – thereby healing the world God created and loves.
A message from the Care for God’s Creation Leadership Team:
“This message is to communicate what the church’s Care for God’s Creation committee has been up to, and to let you know how we will communicate during the summer months.
The following projects have received our greatest attention this year:
At the Forbes Ranch the Gathering Circle arbor has been completed, and we have applied for another Episcopal Community Services grant so that we can build a level pathway and plant native trees and bushes. Our Seeds of Justice Speakers’ Series included three presentations and we expect it to continue in the fall. Spirituality in Nature Gatherings (SINGs) have met monthly. St. Martin’s members have contributed to partnerships with other community groups—for example, the Yolo Climate Emergency and Action Coalition, and the Yolo Interfaith Alliance for Climate Justice.
Given the summer break and our Rector’s sabbatical, we intend to communicate via the St. Martin’s Green listserv from June through September instead of holding monthly meetings of the Care for God’s Creation committee. Please let us know if you have any questions, ideas, or comments. We can circulate those on the listserv as well.
Thank you, and have a pleasant summer!”
For more information, contact Ann Liu or Alessa Johns, Co-Chairs, or info@churchofstmartin.org
Click here for suggested Readings and Resources.
Have you heard about the Forbes Ranch?
Find out more information at this link.
