Some drama in the process of installing heat pumps at Waterloo North Mennonite Church, Waterloo, ON, 2023. by Gordon Allaby Waterloo North Mennonite Church is excited to share that we are installing heat pumps in our building to act on climate change! Here’s how we came to this moment. First, a group of people in our congregation met to determine what we can do about the climate crisis. We determined that we could do two things:   Educate our members and  Take steps to lower the emissions from our church activities. We learned that our emissions are mostly from operating the ..read more

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.  “Remembering working with Joanne on the MCCN Council between 2009 and 2012, I am filled with warmth,” Karla Stolzfus Detweiler, MC USA’s new ..read more

Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) is an excellent resource for congregations looking to fund solar panels. Confused about how the solar benefits for nonprofits in the Inflation Reduction Act  work? IPL should be able to help you. They have hosted online briefings with the U.S. Department of Energy that covered direct pay, tax credits, the programs, and the role faith communities can play in helping our country address the climate crisis and ensure that all communities are supported. See IPL’s Congregational Solar page, which includes a Solar Financing Guide Also see IPS’s Federal Funding ..read more

MC USA Executive Board expands its Peace and Justice ministries to include Mennonite Creation Care Network    Press release reprinted from the Mennonite Church USA website.  ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Church USA) — Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) Executive Board is strengthening its ongoing commitment to creation care and climate justice by expanding its Peace & Justice ministries to include Mennonite Creation Care Network (MCCN).   The transition is the result of a mutual agreement with Everence®, an agency of MC USA that has previously provided administrati ..read more

by Jennifer Schrock, director of Mennonite Creation Care Network Working with Mennonite Creation Care Network has been a part of my job at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center since MCCN’s  inception over 17 years ago. I was present for its first council meeting, and  I haven’t missed a meeting since then. I am now over sixty and ready to pass this ministry on to new leadership. I know MCCN will benefit from a new skill set as well. As I moved toward downsizing my work life, I spent a lot of time thinking about the future of MCCN. It is very important to me to do all I can to set ..read more

We thank Janet Byler, Casandra Byler Stinson and Brenda Meyer, pastor of Benton Mennonite Church for sharing this personal and moving story with our network.  What is the best strategy if you wish to have a natural burial in a society that expects vaults, caskets and funeral home apparatus? Is it better to plan ahead–or assert the wishes of a grieving family in the moment? Brenda Meyer, pastor at Benton Mennonite Church, Benton, Ind., had pondered this question but not resolved it when Urbane Byler, a member of her congregation, died from Parkinson’s disease on December 9, 2022. Urbane, h ..read more

Photo, left: A patchwork quilt used as a burial shroud for a funeral conducted by Benton Mennonite Church, Benton, Ind. A “natural burial,” usually means a burial that does not involve embalming or a vault and avoids materials that do not decompose, such as caskets that include metal. Being buried without these things may sound like a radical step, but green burials are really nothing new.  As late as 1915, only 5 to 10% of Americans were buried in a vault. Both traditional Islamic and traditional Jewish burials are “green.” Depending on local authorities, there are many options within th ..read more

by Karla Stoltzfus Detweiler The event described below is one of three climate change trainings for Christian leaders sponsored by Creation Justice Ministries this year in partnership with the Anabaptist Climate Collaborative. The next retreat will take place October 16 to 18, 2023, more info here. Pastoral Care for Climate: Weaving Science and Theology for Justice took place in May on the beautiful grounds of Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, Wisconsin. The sisters there have given great care to the land,  and the property included restored prairies as well as a lake. The meals served ..read more

by Sibonokuhle Ncube Reprinted from the Mennonite World Conference Courier, April 2023 Climate anxiety may be a new term coined in the Global North, but it is not a new experience for communities that depend on rain-fed subsistence farming. I first joined the adults in my family in worrying about the weather when I was 8 years old. In farming communities, talking about the weather is not small talk – it is everything. The weather is a major determinant for quality of life: it affects water, food and energy security. When a planting season comes late, there is anxiety. In my childhood, each da ..read more

In Deep Waters Spiritual Care for Young People in a Climate Crisis   by Talitha Amadea Aho; reviewed by Jennifer Schrock I was afraid to read this book. “As if being a youth pastor and climate change aren’t challenging enough without combining t he two,” I thought. As I dove into chapter 1, entitled “All this pain,” I steeled myself for something academic and depressing.  What I found were stories rooted in joy and love, that make being with youth and young adults sound like the best job in the world. The book describes real people, grappling with hard questions together while being ..read more