Message from our Eco-Minister

June 2023

With the arrival of June, the official start to summer is just around the corner. For many in churches, though, I know it means planning for the fall already! Here are some things coming up this month, and to look ahead to for the fall to keep your congregation grounded in the spiritual work of creation care. 

• June 22, 1:00 pm – I will be hosting the first “Mennonite Wild Church Ministerial” zoom call. This will be a North America-wide group for Mennonite pastors and lay leaders who are already leading forest church/wild church worship services, or those who are curious and want to learn more about what it means to worship both in and with creation in an Anabaptist perspective. This group is open, and will meet quarterly. Please complete this form if you are interested in being added to the list to receive the zoom link.
   
• As you think about summer worship, consider planning an outdoor service with a twist! Instead of taking your normal worship and transplanting it outdoors, how about engaging with creation as an act of worship? CommonWord has a collection of worship orders I have created to lead a forest church style worship service. You can download them from their website. I’m happy to offer consultation as you consider how to adapt something for your setting.
   
• Looking for some summer reading? Here are two that I’d recommend, that may end up being book studies in the future.
  Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Faith, Community, and the Land, by Norman Wirzba
  In Deep Waters: Spiritual Care for Young People in a Climate Crisis, by Talitha Amadea Aho
   
• AMBS’s Rooted and Grounded Conference is happening September 28-30, 2023, in Elkhart, IN. I will be attending and driving down. I would love to fill a car from MCEC. Let me know if you register and would like to carpool.