Guide to Greening Creation


Third in a series on groups that can connect you to the life of the church


You’ll find plenty of opportunities for service and fellowship in FPCA groups— though you may not be familiar with all of them. This series presents descriptions of groups you can join, written by participants. They’d love to welcome you! Through the Greening Creation ministry, you can plant, maintain, and steward God’s world.


Greening Creation is part of Mission at First Presbyterian. Our purpose is stated on the Greening Creation page on FPCA’s website: “Formed in July 2010, our team has provided opportunities for church members and friends to learn more about earth-care issues and consider specific actions that we can take to honor Christ’s teachings about caring for creation.”


With the love and caring that goes on in our church, we feel compelled to extend that out into nature. Using the tools that God has provided us, we


A crew organized by the Greening Creation mission team gathers in Trexler Park to help with a Friends of Allentown Parks effort to remove invasive plants from the park and support the local ecosystem.


can join together to support the fragile ecosystems that surround us.


We meet monthly in the Witherspoon Room and sometimes use meeting time for projects. For our May meeting, we worked in the native plant garden located near the Commons. We love to work together to create this natural space for native insects and animals. A once overlooked area has been transformed into a garden that includes information signage to help others understand why it is important to use native plants.


ONE MEMBER’S MUSINGS


One of the benefits of connecting with a larger church is that there are a variety of groups and activities—and that new groups and friendships can form based on common interests! When several FPCA members first talked about forming the Greening Creation group over five years ago, I wasn’t sure where it would lead. Engaging with this team has been educational for me, while at the same time allowing me to work with others to support our mission. The best part has been developing relationships with great people whom I might not have gotten to know otherwise.


—Amy Hark 5


During the month of April, we assisted Friends of Allentown Parks with their invasive-plant removal efforts at Trexler Park. Hands-on removal of these plants has helped us better understand the havoc these tenacious plants have on our local ecosystem. At Sunday alternative services after Earth Day, we offered Prayers for the Earth—a water table with candles and paper flowers that unfolded on the water to reveal a prayer for creation.


We would love to lead the effort for our church to become a Presbyterian Church USA Earth Care Congregation. Tis program combines worship, education, facilities, and outreach beyond our own church. With more helpers on our team, we could dig deeper into projects like this and further extend our mission of caring for God’s creation beyond our campus. For more information, email denisejennings@rcn.com. —Denise Jennings,


Greening Creation team leader


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