As a congregation, we believe that environmental stewardship is a sacred and moral responsibility and have pledged our commitment to being active stewards of God’s creation. Through the efforts of our original Green Team, in 2015 we were accepted into GreenFaith’s Certification Program, one of the oldest religious-environmental coalitions in the world. Since then, we have developed programs to inspire, educate and mobilize our parishioners in environmental activism. The guiding principles of Spirit, Stewardship and Social Justice provide a framework for us as we integrate environmental themes into our worship, religious education, facility maintenance, and social outreach. Along with community partners we have taken steps to “green” our church buildings and campus and to educate our congregation on ways they can make their homes and businesses models of creation care.
Members of St. Paul’s original Green Team were instrumental in the development, design and growth of the Delray Beach Children’s Garden, a local nonprofit organization located on St. Paul’s campus. The Garden’s mission is to nurture eco-consciousness in children through garden education, nature exploration and outdoor play. Since 2016 it has served hundreds of children of all ages through year-round educational programs.
In January and February of 2022, when we were once again able to convene in person after the pandemic, a group of parishioners met for six weeks to discuss Katharine Hayhoe’s new book, Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World. We explored problems and solutions to climate change, why facts both matter and are not enough, and how we can make a difference. Hayhoe believes that the most important thing we can do to fight climate change is to talk about it, and she shows us how conversations can be effective when they are based on shared values. This reading inspired participants to explore how St. Paul’s could renew its commitment to promoting purposeful action to preserve our planet. Now under the new name, Creation Care Ministry, we have published a series of practical steps to reduce our climate impact in our parish publications. We have begun to invite speakers from the local community to give presentations about their projects to protect or aid the environment. A long-range goal is to “green” the church campus by switching out non-native vegetation with native vegetation and xeriscape models. This would reduce our use of water and provide habitat to birds and pollinators.
We invite you to join us in developing effective strategies for talking about climate change to friends and neighbors and for communicating our concerns to the policy makers in our communities and beyond. For more information on joining the St. Paul’s Creation Care Ministry, call the church office at 561-276-4541.
Mission Statement:
We embrace the sacred and moral responsibility to be active stewards of God’s creation by promoting a vision of a just and sustainable world community.
We will adopt best practices in preserving and nourishing our earth and its resources by incorporating green thinking, sustainability and conservation into our operational decisions and actions.
Our leadership will inspire and empower our church community, our neighbors and future generations to strengthen their relationship with the beauty, mystery and power in nature and to take action for the earth.
For more information on joining the St. Paul’s Creation Care Ministry, call the church office at 561-276-4541.