While visiting in South Africa doing some work with others from FRC at an HIV/AIDS Hospice at Tapologo in Johannesburg, we took a respite break at the conclusion of the trip to Cape Town. I've heard throughout the years about what a beautiful place Cape Town is. What I didn't know about Cape Town is that it is a biodiversity hot spot. While Alden and myself enjoyed our several hours on top of Table Top Mountain walking the paths, we were in awe constantly of the spectacular views. Both of us were amazed and inspired by the immensity of Gods creation. Alden said "the Green Team people at church should be here dad"!

This was repeated as we spent a portion of our lunch hour walking through the Dutch Garden in the heart of Cape Town (photo to the right). The Gardens were so beautiful and tranquil. At no other point in the trip or our jaunts around towns did we experience so much diversity and life. It seemed that every different kind of person and animal was present in the gardens. People of every age, color and ability played games like chess, ate lunch, took a break or smiled holding hands of loved ones while enjoying the shade of the trees and the endless scents of blossoms that bloomed. The birds were prolific and the Peacocks entertained Alden with the fanning of their feathers!

Alden's reminder to me about the Green Team sparked a flurry of ideas throughout the day that I had for the coming years work with the Green Team! The Green Team has reinvigorated and strengthened my sense of belonging and purpose in my faith at First Reformed. Last year we spent a lot of time getting going and laying a foundation for what we want to do and hope to do. We met monthly and:

• Watched videos that showed how people of faith are rallying around issues that were environmentally destructive as well as being socially and economically unjust.


• We read and discussed articles from the Greening Congregations Handbook, Stories, Ideas and Resources for Cultivating Creation Awareness and Care in Your Congregation, edited and compiled by Tanya Marcovna Barnett. We ended the year with developing a Mission Statement for the group and this handbook was very helpful.


• Larry Rasmussen referred us to the GreenFaith Interfaith Partners for the Environment and we began looking at how we can be an environmental leader in the community. Greenfaith has many ideas and a certification program for congregations to "carry out a range of initiatives to integrate environmental themes into worship, religious education, facility maintenance and social outreach".


• A Carbon Footprint Group met bi-monthly trying to look at ways to reduce our carbon footprints (referring to the ways individuals increase carbon emissions related to energy waste). We made lists of what we have done, what we'd like to try to do and what we've heard about but are not sure of, to reduce carbon footprints.

I can't thank Daniel, Mary, Del, Sandy and Craig for their inspiration and dedication to the process that we've been a part of together in the last year. I really look forward to growing more in the next year. It has been so reaffirming also to have other people in the congregation give us ideas and ask about what we are doing. My biggest goal for the next year is to find ways to reach out to more people and have more input into what we are doing and learning as well as provide other ways for people to participate that may not be able to attend meetings.

That's the purpose of this blog! Stacey taught me "how to blog" and I learned about so many other things like uploading videos and using video cameras and transferring data, memory sticks, USB ports... Now I am going to try to build on this new skill and use this blog to communicate with others what the Green Team is working on and getting more input and support for what we are working toward. Our biggest goal for this year is to gain support for our mission statement and develop an annual plan. By doing this, the congregation will be able to see what we are currently doing that makes us a "Greening Congregation" and what we'd like to try to work toward to become "more green". I hope this blog opens up another door for many of you so that this effort is more inclusive and helps us get to our goal to be better stewards of Gods creation.