Creation Care

"Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns, yet God feeds them."

- Jesus (Matt 6:26)

First Congregational UCC embraces the urgent need to take action to care for all of God’s creation. In 2020, our church established a creation care team which works with all of the church’s ministries. Read about our calling.

Our initial work focused on how our church and our members might reduce our carbon footprint. We used the Cool Congregations Calculator to complete an assessment of our congregation’s Carbon Footprint, then we shared what we had learned with our church. The church enrolled in the Xcel program, Renewable Connect, to decrease our carbon footprint. We also installed LED lights throughout the church.

We also created a Green Team that visited homes of church members to suggest ways to decrease their carbon footprint. This team assisted with simple repairs that practiced sustainability at home. Our Creation Care team created a resource that members of our congregation could use to obtain an energy assessment and green their own homes.

We hold Faith Forums to discuss our role in the climate crisis. In one Faith Forum, we discussed what role our cars play in the climate crisis. We studied ethical investment as it relates to the climate crisis. We also joined the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ to read the book Braiding Sweetgrass, and we have shared a meal with food from the land of the members of our church. At this meal, we discussed how we can move beyond anxiety to action.

We've worshipped outdoors in God’s creation in a service called “Worship by the Bluff," and we held an Earth Day Worship Service with an emphasis on caring for creation. We've also offered a retreat at Daycholah to connect with one another and God’s nature.

Throughout the year, members participate in hikes, and we joined in the River Cleanup.