Disciple - This Fragile Earth: Changes Making a Difference

By Diocesan House

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“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s these little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

It’s a rare thing when Easter, Earth Day and Arbor Day fall in the same week, and we couldn’t help but celebrate that 2019 trinity with a look at Creation Care. A priority of the Diocese of North Carolina, there are countless ways to start reconnecting with the land we call home. What the step is, is less important than the fact the step is taken, because it’s up to every one of us to care for this environment of which every one of us is a part.

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Changes Making a Difference

In the last few years, we’ve been introduced to many churches and the steps they’ve taken in their commitment to Creation Care. From Nativity, Raleigh’s Zero Waste initiative to St. Mary, High Point’s Community Center’s intentional design to qualify for a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification—one of the first Christian church buildings in North Carolina to do so—congregations have taken steps big and small to reconnect to the land around them. The steps and journey continue, and today even more churches around the Diocese of North Carolina are eager to share their stories in the hope we can all see the variety of possibilities no matter what our size or location.

STORMWATER PROJECT: GOOD SHEPHERD, RALEIGH

In the Spring 2018 issue of the Disciple, readers were introduced to rain gardens. St. Ambrose, Raleigh, installed a rain garden on church property as part of the property’s wetland ecosystem. Designed to capture rainwater runoff from parking lots, sidewalks, roofs and other nonporous surfaces, the garden’s plants absorb the water and the pollutants contained within it, preventing flooding and soil erosion.

Rain gardens do not have to be located in a natural setting to be effective, as Good Shepherd, Raleigh, is working to help demonstrate. In partnership with the City of Raleigh through the Rainwater Rewards Program, the North Carolina Cooperative Extension and NC State University, Good Shepherd is installing one of the area’s first urban-environment rain gardens.
One of the environmental challenges of urban areas is the inability of stormwater, defined as the runoff from rain and snow, to be reabsorbed into the soil. Instead, it runs from rooftops to sidewalks and streets into drains, accumulating debris, chemicals and other pollutants along the way.

The rain garden at Good Shepherd will work to combat that. Strategically placed on the southwest corner of the church’s property, the garden will capture the water running off from the church’s roof and parking areas, while the plants absorb the water and pollutants before it can reach city drains.

“As part of our commitment to being good stewards of creation, we were looking for a project that would allow us to live into that aspect of our faith while also being good neighbors to our downtown Raleigh community and beyond,” the Rev. Dr. Cheryl McFadden, associate rector for family ministry, explained. “By creating a space designed to combat all the stormwater runoff from the impervious cover surrounding our property, we not only are answering God’s call to care for the Earth, we also are answering God’s call to love one another—a two for one, if you will.”

The project is funded largely through Raleigh’s Rainwater Rewards Program and in part by a diocesan Green Grant, and work on the garden begins this summer. When it is complete, not only will Good Shepherd have a beautiful centerpiece on its property, it will also have an extraordinary example to help educate other local leaders on the benefits of urban rain gardens and making intentional environmental choices.

Follow the progress of Good Shepherd’s stormwater project at cgs-raleigh.org, or like them on Facebook at facebook.com/cgsraleigh.

THE ARBORETUM: ALL SAINTS', CONCORD

Six years ago, members of All Saints’, Concord, gathered to discern how they might best use their nine-acre church property to serve their surrounding community. A community garden was considered, but they wanted an offering that would draw people to the church, regardless of whether they attended.

So it was decided that instead of a food-producing garden, a sacred garden anchored in native trees would be created. The goal was to build a park-like space where neighbors could visit, rest, learn and reconnect with nature.

It was not a project to be completed overnight; in fact, it was a project expected to take as long as 20 years to complete, with an end goal of building an “outdoor cathedral” in which all would be welcome in an atmosphere designed to foster spiritual tranquility and encourage a connection with the natural world. Every step of the process has been intentional, created as a series of “rooms,” except each room is a garden.

It was decided the garden would feature trees native to North Carolina, as native trees are more likely to thrive in the climate, less likely to grow uncontrollably and certain to provide food and shelter for bugs, birds and other animals. Eighteen species of trees were selected in all.

Visitors to the Arboretum find not just peace but information as well. Along the garden paths are placed “post markers,” each of which contain identifying information about the tree it stands in front of, as well as a QR code that can be scanned for additional information.

All Saints’ hopes to extend community education beyond their nine acres, as they are currently working toward becoming a Community Canopy partner with the Arbor Day Foundation (arborday.org). The Community Canopy program works with companies, cities, states and nonprofits to help educate neighborhoods and homeowners on the right trees to plant in given locations and provide easier access to those trees. The program also works to introduce community partners as sources of information and help build awareness of the work partners are doing.

“One of the goals of the Arboretum is to show through our actions what good stewardship looks like,” said Mark Robinson, one of the leaders on the project. For six years, those actions have been intentional and tireless, bringing together congregation and community under the canopy of native trees, and the momentum built only continues to grow.

PROVEN RESULTS: ST. MICHAEL'S, RALEIGH

One step leads to another, as St. Michael’s, Raleigh, has shown over the last several years. When it comes to Creation Care, they have worked closely with the diocesan Chartered Committee on Environmental Ministry, first starting a recycling program. As that took hold, they increased the recycling efforts, installing recycling bins around the church property and ensuring that hospitality materials such as disposable coffee cups and lids all met recycling standards. With the recycling established, St. Michael’s then began a composting program, so that all food materials, coffee grounds and filters, napkins and altar flowers found a way to be useful again instead of becoming waste.

Yet another effort has proven not only environmentally sound, but financially sound as well. Over the last few years, St. Michael’s has worked to convert all of their lighting to LED lights, including the nave in 2018. Results have shown the efforts were worth it. Comparing energy usage in the church with the former lights versus the LEDs, the new lights have reduced energy usage by 17%, and the church saw an energy cost savings of approximately $200 per month.

Results like that can’t help but be encouraging, so St. Michael’s is now exploring solar panels in the hope of installing them on the roof of the church kitchen and Parish House.

FINE CHINA: GOOD SHEPHERD, RIDGEWAY

The steps taken by Good Shepherd, Ridgeway, in the name of Creation Care date back to Bishop Michael Curry’s call at Annual Convention several years ago. Answering his call to take care of the world in which we live, Good Shepherd made the decision to stop using disposable materials at their coffee hour. Since then, Janet Lesser, Good Shepherd’s coffee hour volunteer, has ensured those who enjoy the church’s coffee hour and hospitality do so on real china, silverware and cloth napkins, leaving only the coffee filters for disposal.

Today, Good Shepherd is in the process of fulfilling a long-desired goal: updating their HVAC system to a new, energy-efficient model.

COLLECT AND SEND: ST. STEPHEN'S, DURHAM

There are few among us who can say we haven’t enjoyed a refreshing beverage in a red Solo cup or delighted in popping the air-filled compartments of bubble wrap. Unfortunately, neither of those, along with other commonly used items, are accepted in the City of Durham’s recycling program.

St. Stephen’s, Durham, did not accept the situation and instead searched for another solution. It came in the form of TerraCycle (terracycle.com), a recycling company that specializes in hard-to-recycle waste like plastic cups and coffee capsules. After completing a short application, St. Stephen’s was accepted into the Solo Cup Brigade, allowing them to collect and send via a pre-paid address label the recyclable cups not accepted locally.

St. Stephen’s also collects bubble wrap and packing peanuts for return to the Scrap Exchange in Durham, ensuring these materials are recycled or reused instead of heading for a landfill.

ONE STEP AT A TIME: DIOCESAN HOUSE

While the focus of implementing diocesan priorities often stays on the development of helpful resources and celebrating the work happening in our worshiping communities, it sometimes goes unrealized that the diocesan staff is on the journey to Becoming Beloved Community right alongside every member of our congregations. Though located in the center of downtown Raleigh, Diocesan House, too, is working to reconnect with the land.

Shortly after the announcement of the mission priority, staff members met to discuss what steps might be taken within diocesan offices to reduce waste. Recycling had long been in place, but staff wanted to do more. So in 2018, the Diocese began an in-office composting program, encouraging staff and visitors alike to take part. The effort took hold, and soon office supply purchases were adjusted to ensure as much as possible that disposable items are now made of compostable or recyclable material. No staff can survive without coffee, but now the fix comes via reusable Keurig coffee filters instead of the single-use cups. These days instead of a full garbage can at the end of each day, it’s the recycling and composting bins that fill, while the garbage can contains a fraction of what it once did.

Next on the list is exploring how the office might increase its energy-efficiency. As with any journey, it’s being taken one step at a time, but those steps are steady and sure.