Amy Phillips, Erica Venberg, Gin Templeton, Suzanne MacEwen, MacKenzie Wutzke, John Harbinson, Jessica
Anderson (Senior Warden), Dan Rice, Steve Bolduc (Junior Warden). Not shown: Donna Clark, Sandy
Holbrook, Alice Hauan, Diane Hill
St. Stephen’s Creation Care Ministry – the Green Team!
Congregational “Green Teams” are emerging in denominations across the United States. Their purpose is to provide a faith-based response to climate change and global warming through raising awareness about the urgent need to protect God’s Creation and to work for environmental sustainability and responsibility. Called by this faith-based movement and particularly by the Episcopal Church’s Creation Care initiative, St. Stephen’s formed its own Green Team. The Team was commissioned by Fr. Jamie Parsley at St. Stephen’s, Fargo, in May 2023.
To encourage support for and participation in the Green Team, Green Team member Gin Templeton designed a t-shirt for sale at the church. Green Team meetings and activities are announced in church and through St. Stephen’s online newsletter and emails. The Green Team has identified the following projects
as its immediate focus: providing Creation Care education, installing a surface-mounted bike rack,
contracting for an energy assessment audit of the church building, planting a “pocket prairie” in the front
yard of the church, and installing solar panels.
The St. Stephen’s Memorial & Gifts fund provided funding for the bike rack (which will be installed
November 2023), the Cass County Soil Conservation District has approved a cost share application for St. Stephen’s Pocket Prairie (planting will begin spring 2024), and the Green Team hopes to acquire additional grants and donations for the energy assessment and the solar panel installation. Taken together, these projects are a major undertaking. But with the support of St. Stephen’s members and friends, and through the grace and blessing of God the Creator, we believe we will accomplish these, and additional goals toward improving our care of God’s beautiful Creation.
To find out more about or to donate to the ministry of St. Stephen’s Green Team, feel free to contact Fr. Jamie Parsley
