Small lifestyle changes help Earth Sustain life
As Christians, we are called to be good stewards of the earth. Many countries now face extreme famine because water sources are depleted, and the reality of climate change is a reminder we can all take steps to conserve water, use less plastic, and consider other ways to be kinder to God’s creation.
Unless this newest touchdown on Mars proves otherwise, Earth is the only planet with the key to sustain life: water. While the spring rains fall generously, the brutal heat of August will remind us that water deserves our respect and attention. That’s why Earth Day should be an every day event. April 22 serves as a reminder that when we each take small steps toward earth care, the cumulative effect of our efforts can quite literally save the world.
As an Earth Care Congregation, FPC stewards finds ways to go green
Job 12:7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; 8 ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.”
In 2012, Betsy Gillaspy-Williams attended an environmental conservation conference in Alaska, and when she returned to Conway, she started looking for ways to put those ideas into action. When she found that PC(USA) had a program, she assembled a team to move our church through the application to become a PC(USA)Earth Care Congregation (ECC). The team’s first step was an audit in the four areas covered: Worship, Education, Facilities, and Outreach. FPC garnered enough points to complete the ECC application, and the next step earned our Session’s affirmation of the Earth Care Pledge.
Since then, FPC’s Green Team has found ways to add more earth care disciplines: Education has included a VBS earth theme and class lessons, and Worship earned points with hymns and sermons on God’s call to steward His world and its creations. FPC has a deep history for caretaking this planet, and when our current property soon became the building that now serves us, past Sessions approved many energy-conscious options during construction. Those concepts continue. From light bulbs to HVAC, the Property committee plan migrates old equipment to include green standards.
Since 2012, FPC outreach has included an Earth Day fair for children and youth with activities, exhibits and take-home projects like flower seeds in a cup. FPC continues to find ways to celebrate in our outreach. The Green Team will host future Earth Day events to encourage children and youth through activities that incorporate ways to be a better friend to the earth. Our youth groups have had camping trips and have participated in activities at Ferncliff, one of 26 certified as a Green Leaf Seal facility. Ferncliff continues to exemplify as well as teach others about God’s creation, our practice to be faithful members of God’s natural world, and our inspiration to do more for environmental justice.
An Earth Care Congregation church affirms the Earth Care pledge to integrate environmental practices and thinking into all facets of congregational life including worship, education, facilities and outreach.
Living Last Supper Video Series
Join us for 12 evenings of reverence and reflection as Jesus’s apostles bring you on their journey of service to the King of Kings. Their stories are celebrations of learning about and from Jesus until they learn that one of their own has been conspiring against Him. The “living last supper” is available as separate devotion. This “pre-recorded” re-enactment allows you to witness one apostle each evening and fully reflect on his journey with Jesus that ended abruptly and tragically on a single night over 2000 years ago.