Creation Care
In the Book of Genesis, God called all creation into being and called it good. God blessed humanity with reason and skills and named us stewards of the good creation. In Jesus’ life and ministry he often cared for and reflected on God’s creation. But we have often misused and abused God’s creation.
The Episcopal Church has made a commitment to practice loving formation, liberating advocacy, and life-giving conversation surrounding the care of creation. The Diocese of Missouri invites individuals, congregations and ministries to join our efforts through our Creation Care Ministry.
Parker Williams is the Missioner for Creation Care and Stewardship in the Diocese of Missouri. He is tasked with mobilizing a wave of religious activism within and beyond the Diocese to protect and heal God’s Creation. The Missioner is to invite us as a Diocesan household to recapture our original mandate as stewards of creation.
Creation Care Missioner Responsibilities
The Missioner’s responsibilities shall include:
- Work with the Creation Care Commission of the Diocese of Missouri as a Council of Advice.
- In collaboration with the Creation Care Commission, offer liturgical and learning resources to the Diocese around the care of creation and climate change advocacy.
- Create a clearinghouse of best practices, formation materials, etc., to enable congregations to reduce their carbon footprints.
- In consultation with the Creation Care Commission, provide for a Diocesan celebration of creation on an annual basis.
- Work collaboratively with the Missioner for Jubilee Ministries in promoting and encouraging “Good News Gardens” across the Diocese.
- Promote the use of the Season of Creation as a time to celebrate, grieve, pray, and engage in creation and climate issues.
- Represent the Bishop and Diocese at environmental conferences and other gatherings so that the Church has a seat at the table for one of the most crucial issues of our time.
- Preach and teach in communities of faith that make up the Diocese.
- Submit an annual report to the Diocesan Convention.
- Offer presentations to Diocesan Council which highlight the ongoing work of creation care.
The Rev. Kevin McGrane is the Chair of the Creation Care Ministry Team.
Meet the Creation Care Ministry Team
The Rev. Maria Evans is interim priest at Christ Episcopal Church in Rolla, but splits her week between Rolla and her 35-acre "hobby farm" north of Kirksville. A near-lifelong rural Missourian, her passions related to creation care are transforming her property into more monarch-friendly, pollinator-friendly, quail-friendly space, adopting rescue dogs, reshaping alley cats into outdoor farm cats, and sharing the bounty of heirloom vegetables she grows for herself.
Jill Fahrenholtz has been a member of Christ Episcopal Church in Rolla since 2000. She served as Sunday school director for more than six years, is on an Open Door team, and has raised two children in the church. She grew up in Kirkwood, MO, and attended a UCC church in St. Louis where she was an active youth group leader and enthusiastically participated in their annual spring mission trip. She enjoys hiking and outdoor activities, and worked in Robotics Research in New Mexico. She has a long history of support and encouragement of STEM career choices and outreach activities, much through Society of Women Engineers.
The Rev. Kevin McGrane, Sr. is a deacon and candidate to the priesthood, assigned to Trinity Episcopal parish in St. James. He lives on a 10-acre homestead called Windy Hill, where he and his spouse Catherine (a conservation biologist) tend goats, chickens, and a modest apple orchard. Deacon Kevin has served in diocesan parishes and ministries in the Missouri diocese for seven years. They have three adult children and 9.5 grandchildren.
Lesley McIntire is a native St. Louisan and lifelong Episcopalian. She I attends the Church of the Good Shepherd in Town and Country. Lesley retired in 2010 after a 40-year career teaching high school history and working in curriculum development. She has served on the vestry numerous times and has overseen a variety of youth programs, including writing a garden curriculum for vacation Bible school. In retirement, Lesley enjoys hiking and biking and travel (many times combining all three) and captains a USTA tennis team with a consistent .500 record. An avid reader, her favorite authors are Wallace Stegner, Wendell Berry, and Marilynne Robinson.
The Rev. Michaelene Miller is the Director of the Deaconess Anne House, A chapter of the Episcopal Service Corps in Old North St. Louis. Growing up in Central Arkansas, Michaelene gained an early appreciation for the ancestral lands of the Caddo Nation, Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma, and the Osage Nation, as well as a trust in God’s goodness as the Creator. As a teenager and into her young adult years, her faith continued to be nurtured outdoors at Episcopal summer camps, where she learned about our responsibility as stewards of God’s creation. She continues to hear God’s urgent call to act during this unfolding moment of climate crisis to protect all the bodies of God’s creation, especially those most impacted by environmental racism.
Dale Penrose has been a resident of Webster Groves and member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church since moving from his home state of Iowa in 2001. Along with his many volunteer responsibilities for the parish, Dale has planted an apple orchard in an unused triangular piece of land owned by the church and located between Big Bend and Lockwood Avenues. Dale planted 24 trees in 2016 and continues to prune, spray, water, mulch and mow the lot, hoping the hard work will produce enough apples to provide Emmanuel’s preschool, food pantry, and St. John’s Peace Meal with all the apples they can eat.
Parker Williams is a fifth generation “son of the soil,” and has an extensive background in agriculture and environmental restoration projects. Together with family, Parker founded Merritt Anderson in 2016, where he oversees conservation and habitat projects. Parker earned a Bachelor of Biblical Literature with a specialization in Psychology and Counseling from Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri and a Masters of Theology and Anglican Communion Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. Parker has served churches in a number of different roles and is currently Parish Administrator at Church of the Holy Cross in Poplar Bluff and an aspirant for Holy Orders in the Diocese of Missouri.
We invite you to learn more and become active in creation care by utilizing the resources on this page.
Creation Season Prayers
Bishop Deon has authored a group of prayers focused on Creation Care.
Christian Leaders Issue Climate Change Warning and Call for Action
For the first time, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion have jointly warned of the urgency of environmental sustainability, its impact on poverty, and the importance of global cooperation.
Moving Forward:
A Guide to Climate Action for Your Congregation and Community
The Episcopal Church is part of a diverse group of faith organizations answering the call to care for God's creation by leading on climate solutions. The group has put together a guide to will show you new ways to serve God, love your neighbor, be good stewards, act for the good of creation, live out your faith, work for justice, help make your congregation more financially stable, and strengthen your moral witness to the world.
Learn more and download the guide.
Creation Care VBS
(July 5) Wild Wonder was created for elementary-age children by A Rocha, a Christian conservation organization that works to help Christians better understand our role in God’s creation and our responsibilities to help it flourish.
Wild Wonder includes:
- five days of lessons
- topics such as soil, plants, insects, animals, and people
- three stations with activities
- outlines for opening and closing times
- a focus on Psalm 104
- printable images, activity sheets, games, and other materials.
Policies for a Green Recovery
(April 29, 2021) The Office of Government Relations explains proposed legislation making its way through Congress to help solve the climate crisis. We encourage everyone to contact their lawmakers and urge them to enact these ambitious infrastructure and energy legislation.
Earth Day Resources
International Earth Day is April 22, but celebrations and advocacy events are happening throughout the month of April. Here are a few resources with ways to get involved:
- Earth Day Resources, from ECF Vital Practices
- Faith Climate Action Week, from Interfaith Power & Light
- Earth Day Action Toolkit, from EarthDay.org
Episcopal Covenant to Care of Creation
Putting It into Practice
In Jesus, God so loved the whole world. We follow Jesus, so we love the world God loves. Concerned about the global climate emergency, drawing from a range of approaches for our diverse contexts, we commit to form and restore loving, liberating, and life-giving relationships with all of Creation.
Download the Creation Care Covenant
Good News Gardens
Good News Gardens is a church-wide movement of individuals, congregations, schools, colleges, seminaries, monasteries, camps and conference centers involved in a variety of food and creation care ministries – gardening, farming, beekeeping, composting, gleaning, feeding, food justice advocacy. The list goes on and on. Collectively Good News Gardens share their abundance, their prayers, and the Way of Love in their communities and beyond.
Province V Creation Care Network
The Diocese of Missouri is part of Province V of the Episcopal Church, which has set up a network for conversation for anyone working on care for creation - in their dioceses, in their parishes, or in their personal lives. This network shares information about ministries, best practices, and challenges that we might be having.
Interfaith Power & Light
Interfaith Power & Light inspires and mobilizes people of faith and conscience to take bold and just action on climate change. For two decades, IPL has been helping congregations address global warming by being better stewards of energy. The campaign has a track record of tangible results: shrinking carbon footprints and educating hundreds of thousands of people in the pews about the important role of people of faith in addressing this most challenging issue.