Anne Albers shares her reflections from the Season of Creation Retreats #1 and #2 to mark the beginning and the end of the liturgical season. And Rebecca Webb shares a poem she wrote from the first retreat.

On a beautiful spring morning, Kristel, Selwyn and I had the pleasure of visiting Flagstaff Community Church in Dunedin. When we arrived at Flagstaff Community Church, Rev. Brendon McRae welcomed us, dressed in his Hunting and Fishing gear, clearly in the midst of working on the church's native regeneration project.  He is a pastor who truly embodies the phrase "faith in action." Not only is he deeply invested in the spiritual growth of his congregation, but he is also equally passionate about the church’s role as kaitiaki of God’s good creation.

For St Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Whanganui, caring for a new inner city park has provided them with a tangible way to express their commitment to caring for God’s creation. It has given them the opportunity to make community connections, and a way to be practically involved in creation care.

Situated on 15 acres of land held in a trust, Peacemakers is a tranquil space, with stunning stars on a clear night and birdsong at dawn. The three kaitiaki of the land Andrew, Susannah and Shannon have lived in intentional community here for 8 years and have recently been joined by Joshua. We all have a deep love for the land and follow the principles of permaculture. We are committed to planting natives and nurturing the orchard and food forest. Anyone is invited to join us for our volunteer days to experience the property.

Our beautiful Little Library is the work of many people and many months.  It was suggested in 2021 at the first meeting of our Eco Church Committee. It is the 67th little library built by Real World Living,  a charity that teaches practical skills (such as carpentry) and life skills to severely disabled young people. The box is made from recycled materials.

The story of Te Ringatini began in 2018 during one of my runs along the river. As I was going through the Donkey Track reserve, I was struck by the stark contrast between the established riparian planting and the invasive tradescantia weeds that were choking the understory. At that moment, amidst the beauty and the brokenness, I felt a divine nudge - a sense that God was calling me to help restore this piece of creation. I felt myself saying “Someone should do something about this” and I felt God respond “You should do something about this”. Yet I felt totally unprepared for the task that I sensed God was calling me into. 

Christchurch's Urban Forest Plan is a Council-led and community-driven effort to create a greener, more equitable city. By planting, nurturing, protecting, and involving the community, Christchurch is well on its way to becoming a greener city - ensuring all of the benefits of trees are available for us and for generations to come. Churches are encouraged to contribute to a thriving urban forest by planting trees on their properties and engaging their congregations in environmental initiatives.

Cityside Baptist community had long wanted to enhance the gardens around their building. They also wanted to extend them, with a couple of gravelled spaces at the back of the church calling out to be planted. In 2021, they began a programme to explore what being a regenerative church could look like. At the same time, they joined the Eco Church movement and the garden project sat easily at the intersection of these initiatives. After years of dreaming and months of planning, in August last year, the community got stuck in to make the new garden happen. Even one or two self-proclaimed “non-gardeners” got their hands dirty.

The local green space at Oxford Street, Masterton was starting to look like a party. Live music, balloons, lawn games and the smell of sizzling sausages could all be observed last Sunday as we celebrated Neighbours Day Aotearoa.

Members of St Michael’s Eco church group in Kelburn, Wellington have been supporting the Pukehinau Reserve biodiversity restoration project and were excited to be part of the opening of the new Pukehinau walking track between Kelburn and Aro Valley in November 2022.

Since mid-2017, Flagstaff Community Church in Dunedin has been working to restore School Creek (that runs alongside the church). This includes a creating a public track alongside the creek, so that the local community can explore and enjoy the beauty of creek and bush environments in the heart of the city, and extensive clearing and planting efforts with natives.

Late in 2020 All Saints Anglican Church in Ponsonby formed an eco-committee and went through the Eco Church self-assessment worksheet to ascertain areas to begin working on. A number of areas were identified through the worksheet, with the establishment of a community garden being determined as the most important. We liked the idea of a community garden because the church had available land, it is a very visible project and one of our church members has the expertise to make it happen.