Watch for this graphic in the MCA Communiqué for what's new with CCWG
Contact us
Liesel Retzlaff
Coordinator
Charlene Lauzier
Coordinator
Meet the whole Creation Care Working Group
Jessie, Jeremy, Liesel, Charlene enjoying the beauty of our beloved Camp Valaqua.
Jessie and Jeremy are from First Mennonite Church Edmonton while Liesel and Char call Foothills Mennonite home.
Say "hi" when you see us around!
Ideas for Celebrating Earth Week
- Pray, Learn, Act from MC Canada Climate Action
- Check out the Interactive Map on For the Love of Creation for Earth Week activities near you. Add a tag if you're having one.
- From Kairos Strengthening Voices for a Just Transition Project
- Join a Prayer Circle with Rev. Tony Snow April 22
- If you're in Calgary, join a Wild Church service at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, April 21, 2 p.m. Spiritual director Sarah Lyon will offer a reflection on how ancient peoples experienced God's presence as a cloud.
Resources
The For the Love of Creation website including a Resource page
MCA Creation Care Working Group
Contact us creationcare@mcab.ca
Updated November 20, 2023
OVERVIEW
As the Alberta Creation Care Working group we want to work to equip and support congregations throughout the conference to respond faithfully to challenges such as the climate crisis and climate justice. We hope to work towards action and initiative with a focus on engagement and education. We also hope to connect with youth, Indigenous relations, and other interested people to continue conversations around creation care, climate change and creating right relationships. As a local working group we want to determine how we can have an impact in our local context, in ways that work in each local area and congregation. Moving forward we hope to provide a point of connection to other Creation Care working groups, and work to support larger MC Canada efforts.
GOALS
- Connect and provide information to members in congregations on the climate crisis including every second month province wide meetings, climate updates on the website, and creation care initiatives.
- Connect with youth, Indigenous relations and others to bring awareness to creation care, climate action and justice.
- Discover pathways for engagement with the broader church, advocacy, and support working with a variety of communities.
- Connect with MC Canada creation care initiatives and network with working groups from the other Regions of MC Canada.
WHO ARE WE?
We are Charlene and Liesel, co-chairs from Foothills Mennonite in Calgary Alberta. We both had the opportunity to attend the Living Hope Climate Conference in Manitoba back in April 2023. After learning that all the other provinces had creation care working groups, it sparked our own desire to create one here in Alberta. Working alongside other Alberta representatives from the conference Jeremy Wiens, researcher and Jessie Brandt, administration, from First Edmonton, we were able to start creating conversations around creation care and climate action in Alberta. Tim Wiebe-Neufeld of MCA and Sandy Plett of MC Canada helped facilitate our discussions and make connections to build conversation and connect with other individuals. We hope to continue this narrative and work alongside MCA to strengthen relationships.
The MCA group at the Living Hope Climate Conference
In the News
A Rocha Canada states “In an environmental context often characterized by fear and paralysis, A Rocha is bringing hope through care of both people and places. Considering joining this MC Canada Climate Action Partner for “Plastic Free February” to reduce plastic use and to raise awareness in advance of the Global Plastics Treaty set to be hosted by Ottawa in April 2024.
Mennonite Church Canada announces Emissions Reduction Grant Recipients
Winnipeg, Man.— MC Canada is pleased to announce Emissions Reduction Grants (ERG) totaling $23,021 to help one rural and eight urban congregations reduce their carbon footprint. Fourteen additional congregations expressed interest in the program.
Sandy Plett, Climate Action Coordinator and member of the Sustainability Leadership Group (SLG) which oversees the process, said they were delighted by the strong response in the first year of the program.
The smallest grant was $1341, and the largest grants were capped at $3,000. The grantees include Sherbrooke MC (MCBC); First MC and Holyrood MC, both in Edmonton (MCA); Listowel MC and Toronto United MC (MCEC); and Lowe Farm Bergthaler MC, Jubilee MC, Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship, and Home Street MC (MCM).
Four congregations (Sherbrooke, First, Lowe Farm, Listowel) will use the funds to install more energy efficient lighting, which will not only reduce direct electricity consumption but also reduce cooling costs in the hotter seasons. Others (Jubilee, Fort Garry, Home Street) will upgrade insulation, windows, or ventilation systems to reduce heat loss in the cold seasons.
One congregation (Holyrood) will make kitchen and water heating appliance upgrades to reduce energy consumption, and are making long term plans to upgrade insulation and heating systems. Toronto United Mennonite will use the grant as seed money for long range plans to install heat pumps to replace aging natural gas furnaces, among other upgrades.
Applicants were asked how their congregation will share their vision for green energy with their community. First MC (Edmonton), which will upgrade its lighting, noted the presence of its solar panels at a major intersection already “gives witness to our vision of being good stewards of our planet and reducing our emissions.”
Joanne Moyer, Edmonton, Alberta, is the 2023 recipient of Mennonite Creation Care Network’s (MCCN’s) Art and Jocele Meyer Award. The award recognizes Joanne’s longstanding service to MCCN as a council member, her commitment to greening Mennonite Church Canada and her enthusiasm for faith-based environmental work more broadly. The award includes a $500 grant for further environmental work. Joanne is a member of Edmonton First Mennonite Church.
