Message from our Eco-Minister

June 2024 

June is a lovely month – a time when gardens are lush and full of blooms, birds sing, and the days are long. In our congregations, it is often a time we celebrate baptism and possibly host an outdoor worship service. As you plan for these services, here are a few resources to help consider how we engage with creation in worship and in our rituals.

Wild Worship Video

First, I’d like to share a link to a YouTube video co-sponsored by MennoMedia and MCEC. It is a recording of a webinar introducing the summer worship materials found in the Summer issue of Leader magazine. These worship resources include six different worship outlines and a communion liturgy for engaging worship outdoors. Even if you are not planning to do a full series of outdoor worship this summer, these resources would be wonderful for a worship service at your church picnic or camping weekend, or for a simple afternoon or evening service open to the community. I have some additional resources for engaging with children in outdoor worship – contact me if you’d like me to share it with you. 

Baptism & Theology of Water

If you are planning for baptism this spring or summer, here are two articles to help reflect on our theology of water and baptism, and about water’s vital role in our ecosystem. Whether it will be outdoors or indoors, these two articles will provide food for thought around how we talk about baptism and how we think about the waters of baptism and our relationship with our local watershed. I’d recommend them as material for sermons or as for reading for your baptismal candidates. 

The first is an article written by Mennonite pastor Melissa Florer-Bixler in Christian Century, and the second is from an interfaith resource called Ecopreacher. 

Blessings as you consider how your worship and your rituals help to deepen your connection with God’s creation this summer.