Our Creation Care ministry reflects our belief that caring for the earth is an act of worship, justice, and stewardship. |
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April is no-mow month, sponsored by the Cumberland River Compact! The CC ministry knows of at least 3 St. B’s households participating.
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In a collaboration with our Justice Ministry, on March 6, a group from St. B’s planted trees at Head Middle, our partner school. St. B’s now has a tree in its honor there!
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| Sewanee in April and Adult Formation in May |
In honor of Earth Day, on Sat, April 25, Fr. Ed and the creation care ministry will lead a field trip to Sewanee. We’ll tour the forest, farm, chapel, and garden to learn about sustainability practices, ending with a prayer service at the cross overlooking the valley. Carpool or ride the church van from St. B’s at 7:30 a.m. (return by 5:30 p.m.), or meet at the University Forest at 9:30. Bring $15 for lunch; scholarships available. Children 12 and under must attend with a guardian; youth 13+ may attend independently. RSVP to Fr. Ed. Walking is required, but not strenuous.
Indigenous people’s class: Starting May 3, join us for a 3-week adult formation class sponsored by the Justice Ministry and Creation Care Ministry focused on the topic of Indigenous peoples. If you have ideas or resources to contribute, contact Fr. Ed.
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🌎 Help staff the TIPL-Nashville booth (one of our partner organizations) at the Nashville Earth Day Festival, Sat, April 18 in Centennial Park, anytime 11:00am - 5:30pm. Contact Gretchen.
🌿 Weed Wrangle plot: ongoing work like placing cardboard and spreading mulch. Contact Jim Pichert.
💻 CC research and/or admin tasks: Doable from home (computer/phone) on your flexible schedule, approx. 1-2 hours/week, or as you can. Contact Gretchen.
♻️ Waste management: Sign up here or contact Gretchen.
• Sat, Apr 18, 8:30 - men’s breakfast
• Sun, Apr 26, 12:00 pm – 456 retiree luncheon
• Sun, May 3, 6:00 pm - Sacred music concert reception
• Sun, May 17, 12:00 pm - newcomer’s luncheon
• Take hard-to-recycle materials to collection centers around town. Contact Gretchen.
🗂️ Indigenous People’s Class: Help with logistics May 3, 10, 17.
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Since 2020, St. B’s has contracted with Compost Nashville. CN collects our food waste and turns it into nutrient-rich compost for Tennessee farms and community gardens. We started with just two 13-gal pails per week (mainly leftovers from Room in the Inn); and are now up to a curbside bin per week, large enough to hold food waste from all events plus the weekly change of sanctuary flowers. With their carbon-negative fleet of vans, CN services residential and commercial entities all around town, as well as offering collection at one-off events. Here are the St. B’s stats for 2025:
• 2,096 pounds of material diverted from landfills;
• 101 pounds of methane prevented from entering the atmosphere;
• 692 pounds of compost created.
More info about what and how to compost in our October 2025 CC email!
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| Allison and the Great Plate Rescue |
The ceramic plates and mugs we use in our kitchen were acquired by the women of St. B's in the 1950s, who raised funds for them by selling bobby pins!! When church leadership was on the verge of getting rid of them in the early 2000s, Allison Hardwick went to bat for them to be kept. She says they're not worth much money, but they're strong and useful, just like the Holy Spirit. Now that we prioritize reusables over disposables, the plates are getting more use than ever! Ask Allison for the full story!
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| Choose Reusable over Disposable |
Find one area in your life where you could use a reusable item instead of its disposable counterpart. This may require girding your loins with Holy-Spirit courage to go against cultural and even family pressures. It could be something huge like no longer buying disposable plastic plates for a social gathering, but washing reusable plates in their stead. It could be something medium-impact, like dropping off your own tupperwares/aluminum pans when you order takeout from a restaurant and asking the servers to use those instead of their customary to-go containers (this works well at local restaurants, especially ethnic ones; not so much with large chain retailers); or bringing your own tupperware to a dine-in restaurant if you know you’ll need a to-go container for your meal. Or it could be something small like using your own vessel at a self-serve soda fountain instead of the cup that typically comes with a fast-food meal.
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Sandra Richter's Stewards of Eden: What Scripture Says About the Environment and Why It Matters. Old Testament scholar and professor Sandra Richter walks readers through Scripture passages, showing how significant environmental theology is to the Bible's witness. Each chapter draws out a biblical mandate about humanity's responsibility to care for the land, domestic and wild creatures, and people on the margins. Though modern political alliances may tempt readers to sever Christian faith from environmental stewardship, in this concise and accessible book, Richter urges us to be driven by God's values instead. (The Thursday morning women’s Bible study studied a book by this same author a few years ago!)
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When they were satisfied, [Jesus] told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. (John 6:12-13, NRSV) - the biblical precedent for bringing your own container for leftovers :)
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Holy God, the abundance you bless us with was always meant to be shared. Make us responsible stewards and help us to reassess the way we live. Remind us that haste does lead to waste, and that throwaway items often disrespect both people and planet. Help us to slow down, and to form communities of accountability that help us to reduce our waste. May our steps towards a lifestyle without waste be a special offering of service to you, a pleasing sacrifice of love for you and your creation. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
—A Prayer adapted from the Uniting Church in Australia
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📨 Have questions or suggestions? |
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ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
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