Celebrating Earth Day
On the day after Earth Day, we gather to give thanks and praise for the beautiful gifts of creation. In music and prayer, we’ll call, turn our hearts to the wonder and beauty all around us, and remember our call to be good stewards of all we’ve been given. As part of our prayer, we’ll begin using a form of the Great Thanksgiving from Enriching our Worship. These prayers highlight the call to mind the wonders of creation as we journey through spring.
Following the 10 a.m. liturgy, we’ll process outside and plant a tree as part of the Anglican Communion Forest. As part of our prayer, we’ll begin using a form of the Great Thanksgiving from Enriching our Worship. These prayers highlight the wonders of creation as we journey through spring.
The Anglican Communion Forest
Last November, at the Diocesan Convention, Bishop Deon gave each parish a young oak tree to care for over the winter and then plant when it is safe to do so. Come out and join in the prayer, blessing, and planting of our young oak tree on Sunday, April 23rd, following the 10 am service.
We do this in solidarity with the Communion Forest Project, a global initiative of the Anglican Communion. The Communion Forest aims to significantly increase Anglican tree growing and landscape protection worldwide and deepen care for creation within the life of the Church.
At the heart of our faith is the call to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and to sustain and renew the face of the earth. God’s earth, God’s creation, God’s gift. As we plant our tree, we are not only living out this aspect of our discipleship, but we are also expressing hope for the future.
Let this be an act of hope for us as a community and a pledge to tread more gently on planet Earth for the good of all creation and those who will come after us.
Grace Church Creation Program
As a continuing part of Grace’s Creation Care program, we planted two variegated Dogwoods near the circular drive in the front of the church and two Pieris bushes, partial sun evergreen shrubs hydrangeas, on the grounds. These plants were part of our Easter decorations and have been recycled for a new life on the church grounds.
More about the Swamp Chestnut Oak
The Swamp Chestnut Oak is one of our most beautiful and majestic native oak trees, growing 2 feet a year to become in time a tree at least 70 feet tall and 50 feet wide. It has a rounded crown supported by a massive trunk. The leathery leaves are glossy, deep green, broad, and without the deep lobes of most other oak trees. They turn rusty shades of yellow and red in late fall and often stay on the tree well into the winter. Older trees produce crops of acorns that are naturally sweet and can be eaten raw. They are important food for turkeys, deer, squirrels, woodpeckers, and cows to enjoy too. A tree for larger gardens is a lawn specimen or shade tree.
