Green Team
“Perhaps the single most effective step I have taken in terms of avoiding waste is to try to pray every time I put something in the bin…Seeing waste as a spiritual issue has caused me to go back to the start of the process: Buying things in the first place. Now, before I buy something, I always try to ask whether I really need it.”
~ Dave Bookless, Planet Wise, 126
Please view our resources below, to explore other ways our St. Mary’s Green Team is active in our community
Christian worship
We are trying to raise awareness of the natural world and encourage the giving of praise and thanks in the worship service for God’s created universe.
St Mary’s Green Team organized a clean up of St. Mary’s grounds and area on May 27. This was part of A Rocha and Tearfund’s National Day of Action to join with Christians and churches across Canada to care for our creation in a tangible way. We showed our faith by cleaning up our local community and caring for the Earth.
The clean up crew included:
Back Row: Sean Gault, Mansoor Mohebbi, Carl Chen Quan, Margaret Baldassare, Helen Gault, Dave Hunt, Jennifer Briggs, Judy McAdam, Barry Rollinson
Front Row: Pat Duke, Diane Robertson, Quin Mayhew, Erica Mayhew.
Check the August edition of Neighbours of Mill Pond for the article written by Jesse Gault about this event. A copy of the article is posted on the Green Team Bulletin Board across from the cloak room.”
Christian outreach and social justice
The ideals of these two areas are similar to those of the Green Team; for example, we participated in the ‘bell ringing 350’ and support the promotion of ‘fair trade coffee’ which is grown sustainably. In addition to this the Green Team would like to emphasize that the effects of climate change, both now and in the future, will hit first and most seriously the world’s most vulnerable citizens. We are encouraging ways to take action now as this will not only minimize damage in the future but will also minimize the cost of dealing with the damage.
Christian education
In Sunday School we encourage the love of the natural world. Through worship, prayer and giving thanks, the Green Team is hoping to heighten awareness of what we need to do as a congregation, as a community, and as individuals to move toward a more sustainable, more just and more secure world.
Christian fellowship and support
We take every opportunity to share information relating to the health of the ecosystems of our Earth and how to move towards a truly sustainable environment. For example we facilitate recycling at St. Mary’s and have involved the congregation in Eco-Fairs for two years. Some of our members, who are also members of Richmond Hill’s Horticultural and Garden Society, make use of the friendship and common objectives of this group to give direction, purpose and practical ‘know how’ to our efforts to look after our plants, gardens and the natural world around us in as environmentally friendly a way as possible.
How our Green Team Operates
Our committee consists of seven interested members of our congregation.
We meet on the last Wednesday of each month.
Our goals are to heighten awareness of the plight of God’s Earth and what we need to do as a congregation, and society in general, to move towards a more sustainable future.
Green Team Contacts
Joan Temple-Porter 416 571 9880, joantp22@gmail.com
Janet Bartram-Thomas 905 506 2431, janet.bartram-thomas@
Current Activities
- We put ‘green nuggets’ , succinct items of information, in the bulletin.
- We host ecumenical events with light refreshments at which we show DVDs and/or have speakers which address environmental issues.
- We celebrate yearly events related to the environment such as Earth Day, Earth Hour, World Water Day, etc.
- We encourage the clergy and the worship committee to include in the service prayers for our Earth and to provide leadership towards recognizing the ‘ethical aspect of the challenge of climate change’ .
Additional Resources
As an Anglican church, we are connected to the Creation Matters working group of the Anglican Church of Canada, and through them to the global Anglican Communion Environmental Network.
Additionally, we commend these Canadian faith-based organizations working on environmental justice and stewardship.
Citizens for Public Justice, a Christian voice for social and environmental justice in Canadian public policy.
Faith and the Common Good, an interfaith organization assisting faith communities with practical greening through their Greening Sacred Spaces program.
KAIROS, a coalition of Canadian churches working together for justice and peace.
A Rocha Canada, a Christian environmental stewardship organization working in conservation, environmental education and sustainable agriculture.