Earth Stewardship
Mission Statement:
This is your Invitation to Earth Care Ministry!
If you share our sense of urgency to help in slowing climate change damage, and if you believe, as a faithful follower of Christ, that we can have a greater impact working together, please join us. We welcome new input and ideas. We keep our committee footprint small and our efforts in the community, large. Actions will always speak louder than words in our challenge to mitigate the adverse climate changes that are bring harm to our land and people.
A record number of volunteers participated in a two-hour tree planting event at Union Missionary Baptist Church (UMBC) in downtown Lansing on Saturday, April 11. Lansing Forestry Supervisor, Irene Cahill mentioned that the 100 participants established a new attendance record for a single tree planting event during her over 30 years of service.
Organizations that coordinated the event included the City of Lansing Forestry Service, City of Lansing Community Relations and Faith Based Initiatives, Michigan State University’s Alpha Sorority, UMBC, Michigan State University Community Engaged Learning, East Lansing’s Peoples Church Earth Stewardship Ministry, Michigan Interfaith Power and Light’s (MIIPL) Capital Area Chapter.
UMBC Pastor Kenneth Craig welcomed the volunteers to the church grounds. Pastor Craig expressed a deep gratitude to the participants. Rev. Craig explained that the City of Lansing requested that the church plant the trees (shrubs to come later) across the southern border of the property to provide screening for a detached garage that was recently erected in the south area of the parking lot.
“The event was powerful. People came together with purpose and commitment. We didn’t just plant trees, we strengthened the roots of our community and cared for our shared spaces,” said Luci Solis, manager of the Mayor’s Community Relations and Faith Based Initiatives program.
MIIPL Capital Area Chapter member Marc Lyon, who also serves on Peoples Church Earth Stewardship Committee was pleased by the record turnout and results.
The 15 trees planted along the southern and western edge of the church grounds were City Slicker Birch and Oak Leaf Mountain Ash.