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Goodness Grows is an organization that provides opportunities for people of all abilities to connect through gardening. They are located in Common Ground Church Community and they are a licensed provider of daily programing for adults with disabilities through the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities. The produce that is grown is then used for a Community Supported Agriculture Program.
To learn more about Goodness Grows click here.
Image courtesy of blackchurchfoodsecurity.net
The Black Church Food Security Network connects growers, especially Black farmers and urban growers, with historically African American congregations. Black churches have proven to be a strong-hold even in vulnerable communities, and the Black Church Food Security Network embraces the history and ability of the black church to make significant and lasting change in their communities. Their “Soil to Sanctuary” community markets work to provide and establish a cooperative partnership between growers and consumers. Currently they support the Mid-Atlantic region, but they are working to publish a guide to support those who want to start a garden at the local congregation level.
This organization was created by Rev. Dr. Heber M Brown.
To learn more about the Black Church Food Security Network click here.
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Creation at the Crossroads is a collaboration between RENEW International, GreenFaith, and Catholic Climate Covenant. They aim to share faith related resources for small-groups that respond to Pope Francis’ call to action in his encyclical Laudato Si’. To read more on Creation at the Crossroads, click here.
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Permaculture Extension Initiative is a project from EcoFaith Recovery. The project is meant to build ecological and biblical literacy in faith communities while engaging in practical and transformative projects. The pilot project offers faith communities the opportunity to engage in: weekend workshops on the themes of permaculture, gardening, or watershed discipleship and biblical ecology; design and implement a food-bearing, pollinator friendly, or native habitat landscape and garden; permaculture/eco-biblical literacy mentoring of interns as opportunities present themselves. To read more on the Permaculture Extension Initiative, click here.
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EcoFaith Recovery is a faith-based leadership development effort in the Pacific Northwest. Their purpose is to revitalize congregational ministries to participate in the healing of creation. They envision themselves as the tree of life, rooted and growing at the junction of ecology, faith, and recovery. They hope to create and network small groups and learning communities that can discover new and sustainable ways of being, to engage, mentor, and nurture one another in spiritual, economic, and community leadership, and to build and re-build powerful institutions that can employ the resources of Christianity, creation, cosmos, and community toward the work of healing. To read more on EcoFaith Recovery click here.
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Prayers about Creation is a resource from the Green Churches Network. It includes links to longer prayers and their own shorter prayers as well. They believe that people should follow the example of Jesus withdrawing into nature to pray and encourage everyone to praise God with all creatures. To read more about Prayers about Creation, click here.
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Creation Justice Ministries encourages Christian communities to consider water as a sacred gift from God that connects and sustains all life. They have created a free Christian education resource on water that includes liturgical resources, sermon starters, and ideas to take action. To read more about God’s Gift of Water or download the resource, click here.
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Green Tips is a resource from the Green Churches Network that offers a way to build awareness about the environment in faith communities. They offer tips for every month that are based on passages from the Bible. They are meant to be published in a monthly newsletter or bulletin board. To read more on Green Tips, click here.
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The Green Churches Network has created discussion question on Laudato Si’. The document highlights questions raised by Pope Francis from the encyclical and cites the page number they come from. To read the entire list of discussion questions, click here.
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The Green Churches Network has pulled out important quotes from Laudato Si’ that they feel highlight the main message of the encyclical and created a resource to share them. To read or download the entire resource, click here.
“So too is the Church. All Christian communities have an important role to play in ecological education. It is my hope that our seminaries and houses of formation will provide an education in responsible simplicity of life, in grateful contemplation of God’s world, and in concern for the needs of the poor and the protection of the environment.”
-Paragraph 214 of Laudato Si’