By Karlah Y. Burton
Saint Matthews UMC in Greensboro, NC, has had a busy—and productive—summer and fall.
The ongoing Creation Care Ministry and Community Garden Project at Saint Matthews has donated close to 100 pounds of fresh produce to Share the Harvest of Guilford County, Greensboro Urban Ministry, food pantry patrons, church members, and others.
In October Saint Matthews’ Creation Care Ministry presented the second annual Fall Festival. Given the theme, “Healthy Eating,” the event featured food demonstrations from Second Harvest Food Bank, Recipe for Success, and Juice Plus+ in addition to education on preventive medicine and nutrition especially for older adults and communities of color. The festival also included an electric car show, foam drop-off\recycling, a pumpkin patch, free Covid-19 vaccinations, additional medical presentations, community garden tours/demonstrations, and more! Supported by a mini grant received from the Partners in Health and Wholeness Collaborative, the event’s additional participants included Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Electric Motor Club of High Point, and Old North State Medical Society, as well.
Saint Matthews UMC has also registered to participate in the Western NC Conference Green Church Initiative, a covenant program empowering the local church to live out its faith given the biblical mandate to be good stewards of all that has been so lovingly made. The categories chosen are intended to represent the total life and ministry of a congregation—worship, discipleship, stewardship, evangelism, and mission—so that caring for the earth becomes fundamental and every aspect of ministry is connected to God’s Creation. Currently, SMUMC has accumulated close to the 200/300 points required to become a commissioned “Green Church.” Other activities planned for this year include a tree planting and additional action items related to the Conference’s Green Church Initiative.
On Creation Care Sunday (Season of Creation Sunday) Reverend Rodvegas Ingram preached a sermon based on Luke 16:19-31, relating the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man to Christian responsibility to demonstrate environmental concern. “We might be rich today, but we might not always be. We need to help our neighbors, save the hungry, help the environment,” Rev. Ingram implored.
At a planning retreat for the Conference, Bishop Ken Carter made suggestions for outreach projects intended to engage others that could be undertaken in 2023 by the Creation Care Ministry within each district of the WNCC. Ideas include expanding on the success of existing projects, associating mission and purpose of current programs to issues of earth advocacy, and trying new things in order to assess the level of interest. Saint Matthews is already providing a shining example of some possibilities that come from a dedicated team who love God’s earth.
Karlah Burton, UM EarthKeeper and chairperson of the Creation Care Ministry and Community Garden Project at Saint Matthews UMC, is also an at-large delegate to the Western NC Annual Conference and a member of Conference Creation Care Team.