Highlights from the Summer/Fall 2025 Green Team Newsletter:
Green Team Invitation
- The team welcomes feedback and encourages sharing the newsletter.
- Call to action: Congregations with gardens are asked to fill out a brief form: Garden Survey
Upcoming Event: Nuclear Prayer Day
- August 5 at Christ Lutheran, Hellertown
- Marks the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
- Features a 6 PM peace song sing-along, international livestream, and prayer vigil from the Hiroshima Peace Dome.
ELCA Social Message on Earth’s Climate Crisis
- Urges Christians to care for creation through confession, advocacy, sustainability, and justice.
- Encourages:
- Preaching and worship centered on creation care
- Becoming a Creation Care Covenant Congregation
- Addressing climate anxiety
- Engaging in public and political advocacy
- Emphasizes biblical stewardship, structural sin, and the moral urgency of climate action.
Featured Podcast: Outrage + Optimism
- Recommended by Pastor Inge Williams.
- Episode highlights evangelical Christian climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe.
- Explores the intersection of faith, politics, and climate denial in the U.S.
- Encourages a spiritual approach rooted in honesty, justice, and hope.
Stamp Clarification: Rausch Creek
- A recent Appalachian Trail stamp was mistakenly identified as Schuylkill County’s Rausch Creek.
- It actually depicts Rausch Creek in Lebanon County.
- Still, the mix-up sparked local excitement and appreciation for the area’s rich mining and milling history.
Book Preview: Here Comes the Sun by Bill McKibben
- Not yet released (due August), but anticipated to be both sobering and hopeful.
- Focuses on missed opportunities and the ongoing global solar and wind revolution.
- Recommended purchase: Bookshop.org listing
Inspiration: Church Garden Ministry
- A thriving church garden grew from a small Sunday School idea into a robust produce donation program.
- Now includes 18+ raised beds, organic practices, a shed, deer fencing, and a CSA for local seniors.
- Distributes food to:
- Local food banks
- Seniors in housing
- New Bethany Ministries
- Encourages other churches to begin gardens and advocates for high-quality, nutritious produce.
Looking for More?
Visit the Green Team's webpage for additional newsletters and resources on how you can help care for God's creation.
