A Rocha Manitoba worker reflects on COP26
Kari Miller is the environmental education coordinator for A Rocha Manitoba and attends Home Street Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, Man. She attended COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, from Nov. 5 to 12, 2021, as part of the Christian Climate Observers Program. I spoke with Miller about her experience at COP26, what she witnessed and what role…
Creation care resource a timely tool for congregations
Senior environmental studies students from The King’s University in Edmonton have compiled a creation care resource for Mennonite Church Canada congregations. “God’s Green Church: Becoming a Creation Care Congregation” is a 22-page document, sponsored by MC Canada’s Sustainability Leadership Group, that outlines practical steps churches can take to become more environmentally sustainable. “This resource provides…
Greening the church
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it” (Psa. 24:1) a congregation declares in its worship service. In recognition of Earth Day on April 22, this issue of the magazine carries the feature, “Avoiding an environmental shipwreck” by Tim Wiebe-Neufeld. As part of Mennonite…
Avoiding an environmental shipwreck
Every time you walk into the church building, that threadbare carpet stares up at you. Everyone agrees it’s time for a change, but how do you replace a worn-out carpet without destroying the planet? In the age of environmental awareness even a flooring choice goes well beyond a discussion of colour and price. Is the…
What is nature to you?
If you’ve ever invited me to go camping with you, you’ll know I’m not exactly what you would call “outdoorsy.” I enjoy nature, but I don’t really see the need to sleep in it, much less in a stuffy tent with sticks and rocks poking into my back. I feel the same about hiking—I’m just…
Climate change as a spiritual crisis
When Luke Gascho and Jennifer Schrock of Goshen College’s Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center invited me to help lead efforts to engage Mennonite churches on climate change, it felt like a call from the Spirit. I felt prepared because I had been leading Benton Mennonite Church in Goshen, Ind., in creation care for 15 years…
Watch: Eco-anxiety spurs creativity
How do you reckon with the feeling that everything is changing? That sense that crises are converging? With the notion that we have some big choices to make individually and collectively? Those questions get at some of the ideas at play in “Caring at the End of the World,” a new video from Eco-Anxious Stories…
Climate action must include parking our cars for good
The climate strike in Waterloo last month raised awareness and got people talking about climate change, which is a good thing. What’s a lot more important but a lot more difficult to organize and be a part of is the action that is taken after a strike like this. How can we build off this…
Striking for the future
Mennonites took to the streets of Winnipeg on Sept. 27 with more than 12,000 others to strike for the climate. The rally was one of thousands happening around the world as part of the global youth-led movement that has seen millions protesting the climate crisis and advocating for environmental justice. People waved signs saying, “There…
Watch: Manitoba Mennonites join climate strike
More than 10,000 people in Winnipeg joined the global climate strike last Friday, Sept. 27, including a strong showing of Manitoba Mennonites. In the video below, Moses Falco—pastor at Sterling Mennonite Fellowship—shares footage from the Winnipeg strike, as well as a multi-faith prayer event that preceded it. The video also includes people briefly explaining why they…
