Numerous native plants now welcome visitors to the church and grounds, including Cenizo and Zinnias, pictured here, and cut leaf daisy, Texas lantana, cone flower, and frog fruit. Photo courtesy Karl Schnase, used with permission.
“Empowering spiritual growth” and “solving climate change,” these are the hopes of Creation care leaders in Horizon Texas and Rio Texas Annual Conferences who are reclaiming church grounds and encouraging real action for God’s creation in local churches.
Retired engineer Clark Meier attends Horizon Texas congregation Wellspring UMC in Georgetown, Texas, and solving climate change is his retirement project. Together with a local church team, he launched a 6-month program called Green Step to inspire others to take the kind of steps, big steps, that are realistically needed to make a difference.
Ambassadors of the Green Step Program attend an Eco Expo in Rio Texas to promote taking big steps for creation care. Pictured includes Clark Meier, end right. Photo courtesy Clark Meier, used with permission.
“Toward the end of my engineering career, I became more aware that the world had bigger problems and I needed to address them. My colleagues and I were just trying to make your cell phone faster and your car smarter,” said Meier. “I’ve witnessed the debates over various social programs, but I think we can all agree that nature is perfect by design, even when we can’t understand it. Our impact on nature is not nature’s fault. And it’s absurd to think that nature should be trying harder.”
Meier rolled up his sleeves and got to work, including bringing a team together at his church. “I created the basic project premise, and the team helped refine it with their ideas and expertise,” said Meier. That team also serves as Green Step Ambassadors who answer questions, help connect people to resources, and are present at the church on Sundays.
One of the first surprises was the number of people eager to be involved. “What struck me was the enthusiasm of the team.” Meier explained, “Seems folks had been waiting for something to happen in this area and were eager to get on board. We had fourteen people on the team, and many of them had no church group involvement until now. And, many were younger than the congregational average age.”
Not only was the team enthusiastic, but also committed. The Green Step Project is detailed and requires big steps from participants. Over the six months about 70 people have participated, making up about thirty-five households in their mid-sized congregation. Said Meier, “By design, none of the steps were easy, so those that participated needed a significant commitment.”
Project participants include both adults and youth. Each has their own list of steps they can take. The lists are impressive. Steps for the grown ups include things like installing a rainwater collection system, converting front and/or back yard to certified wildlife habitat, raising chickens, and installing solar panels. For youth, choices include learning how to cook, bicycling, planting trees, and talking to local officials about conservation.
The key is specificity, to choose something that will make a difference, then actually do it. “That’s where the green step comes in,” said Meier. “You’ve got to do the deed.”
As impressive as the Green Step Project is, it is just one of many efforts in Texas that are potential models for other green teams and conferences in the denomination.
There are stations along the Beatitudes Prayer Walk where the prayerful can pause and reflect in the sacred space of nature. Photo courtesyAbel Stewart, used with permission.
A shady invitation to enjoy the beauty of nature, as well as the cool of natural, native shade plants. Photo courtesy Neil Bys, used with permission.
Todd Phillips, Abel Stewart and a team at Northern Hills UMC in San Antonio, Texas, in the Rio Texas Conference started their big project in 2021, a prayer and native plant trail with an invitation to reflect on blessedness through the Beatitudes. Finished in 2022, the project brought in both local and national partners, and offered a way for the congregation to engage deep discipleship and serve the wider community especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A group of people, now called the Beatitudes Prayer Walk Ministry, came together to flesh out a plan of action, and this plan was presented to the Sr. Pastor, Church Administrator, and the Board of Trustees,” said Phillips. “To the extent that anyone was welcome to participate it was a congregational effort, but the Beatitudes Prayer Walk Ministry received no funding from the church budget. Donations from individuals and grants from NGOs provided funds to cover costs.” The team also sold commemorative pavers with memorial inscriptions and scripture to support the project.
While the church led the project as a ministry effort, they reached out to invite and include the wider community as well. “We were not shy about asking for help or information,” explained Phillips. That help was invaluable, and the team gained support for proper installation of walking paths, and help identifying and conserving the native plants that were already present in the area.
“Plants were selected first for being native to this region of Texas, and then for plants that worked to benefit native fauna,” says Phillips. “In dialogue with the National Wildlife Federation, San Antonio River Authority, and Native Plant Society of Texas, we intentionally planted native species to provide habitat for birds and pollinators.”
The Prayer Walk serves both as a half-mile walking trail accessible to the community, and a place for outdoor worship and reflection. The ministry team engaged a local artist, Sylvia Carpenter, to paint a welcoming mural at the trailhead, and the outcome included the hope that church members would consider transitioning their own yards to native plants with an eye to stewardship and conservation.
The project has also expanded beyond the main campus church property, with classes on creation care, native plant talks & giveaways, a Good Earth Fest coinciding with Earth Day, and a pollinator garden at the Ministry Center campus, which was funded by a Global Ministries Earthkeepers grant.
The hope is to empower spiritual and physical health. “By giving people a chance to reflect on the beatitudes and what scripture teaches about being ‘blessed,’ we offer encouragement to mature and grow in our faith,” said Stewart. That blessing is evident on the peaceful trails, which are enjoyed by humans and wildlife both, including a flock of wild turkeys.