Faith Communities and Ecology
People in pews and pulpits, and seekers of all sorts, hunger for a connection between the earth and their spiritual lives. We help you build a ministry responsive to that divinely inspired desire.
Reintegrating our spiritual lives with our local ecosystems revitalizes congregations and the communities in which they are embedded. Ecological renewal is not only about what we do, but about who “we” are. We are a community of all living things, A Commonwealth of Life. Transforming our imaginations around community takes environmental ministry to a whole new level.
Among the ministries we offer are…
Congregations
Dynamic Sunday mornings of preaching and teaching, exploring the integration of spirituality and ecology.
Leading parish retreats on themes in contemplative ecology offering participants an expanded awareness of the richness of the Christian environmental tradition.
Working with committees, clergy, and governing bodies to identify new and unexpected opportunities to integrate spiritual ecology into the mission and ministry of the congregation.
Leadership coaching and development that shifts the conversation in the congregation and the larger community from what we do to who we are.
Spiritual Formation (in person or online)—becoming disciples in and of our local watershed:
Bible studies that explore the vast richness of land, food, eating, and agriculture. The message of scripture could be told by going from one story about food and meals to the next.
Adult Formation Series on various topics of ecology and spirituality, including local food systems, watershed discipleship, the Christian tradition of natural contemplation, and more.
Working with Formation/Discipleship teams to integrate ecology into programing for all ages.
Facilitate conversations, planning, and implementation around use of church owned land. More information can be found here.
Revolutionizing mission by reclaiming the spirituality of food. Our spiritual inheritance embodies the connection between spirit and earth through food, farming, and eating. We can help you live that connection in congregation and community by partnering to build local food systems rooted in justice, equity, and spirituality.
Denominations
Facilitate, plan, and execute the use of denominational land into ecological landscapes and local food systems, and integrate that work into the spiritual life of the community. More about land and food can be found here.
Launch, relaunch, or renew diocesan (judicatory) wide environmental ministry by visiting churches, building partnerships, and recruiting participants.
Facilitate diocesan-wide programming that empowers the integration of spirituality and ecology, for example, EcoStory—an inter-congregational conversation across local watersheds about ecology and home.
Connecting congregations based on shared, local watershed to renew regional ministry and build ecological outreach networks.
Religious (Monastic) Communities
Facilitate community conversations around land use and the spiritual connection to their local ecosystem.
Identify ways to convert land use to ecological landscapes and local food systems rooted in the values of stability, hospitality, and equity.
Oversee implementation of community vision for the use of land.
More information about land use can be found here.