Sunday
March 15, 2009

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
 the world and those who live in it.
Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the Lord.
-Psalm 98:7-8

Over the past year and a half, members of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Gaithersburg, MD, has been growing in their understanding of their call to be earthkeepers.  Pastor Sarah Scherschligt shares their story:

“Prince of Peace is a suburban congregation in the fast-paced area outside of Washington DC.  We're a growing church and I don't just mean in numbers.  I came here as a pastor in Fall, 2008, and immediately noticed that people were talking about the environment.  Hiking trips, Al Gore, CFLs, Energy-saving appliances.  All it took was one brainstorming meeting pulling all these people together and our Creation Care Team took off.  We joined the Greater Interfaith Power and Light of Washington DC and got a free energy audit.  Since then, we’ve changed the light bulbs, installed fans to decrease our heating costs, and controlled our thermostats."

"But we’re not just going after the easy changes, we’re also digging deeper...quite literally!  We’re starting a community garden: The Fruitful Field (from Isaiah). We’re Carbon Fasting during Lent and then we’ll kick off our garden with a Creation Care Carnival on April 19th – the Sunday after Easter.  Some of the food will go to a local food shelf and some to people who don't have access to gardens of their own. The kids in our congregation received seeds early in Lent and they’ll be the first to plant. Here's hoping their lettuce makes it. We’re paying special attention to landscape preservation with rain barrels and compost bins.  Our county is helping us develop a rainscape (and they might even pay for it)."

"Our Creation Care Team is not only great for the earth and our hearts, it's also energizing our whole congregation.  This Lent, I keep remembering that Mary thought the resurrected Jesus was a gardener. Makes sense to me. Jesus is the gardener of a growing church with a living faith.”