At St Heliers Presbyterian Church to help enable their congregation’s Eco Church journey, an Environmental Justice team was formed and one of their first initiatives was hosting The Week. Edina Kuki reflects on The Week - three hour-long documentaries which was followed by a group conversation to debrief and process what’s been heard.

Anne Albers shares her reflections from the Season of Creation Retreats #1 and #2 to mark the beginning and the end of the liturgical season. And Rebecca Webb shares a poem she wrote from the first retreat.

During the Season of Creation, Ruapehu Anglican Parish hosted a successful community working bee, transforming a wetland area adjacent to St. Mary’s Hall on Seddon Street in Raetihi. The initiative, aimed at rehabilitating the local environment, brought together 20 volunteers, including students from Ohakune Primary School’s William Pike Challenge programme.

Onewa Christian Community in Birkenhead hosts Repair Cafés 3-4 times a year, in conjunction with Highbury House, the Birkenhead Community Centre.  They enjoy the camaraderie and great atmosphere when mixing with the public. Most of the volunteers come back time and time again. Repairs are free but a koha is accepted for the morning tea, the proceeds of which are given to De Paul House in Northcote.

Floral arrangements have long been an important expression in many churches, but in recent years, there has been an increase in using materials and techniques that contribute to waste, such as floral foam, plastic packaging, and chemically treated plants. Knowing that floral foam bricks take time to decompose, the florists from St Paul’s Presbyterian in Napier were keen to look at alternatives.

Waitakere Salvation Army shares with us what took place during their Eco Church launch service in September during Season of Creation and how the church is tackling the issue of food waste as their first Eco Church initiative.

Since April this year, every Tuesday parishioners from St Andrew’s on The Terrace join representatives from other religious groups for a peaceful lunchtime protest on Parliament grounds. Holding placards that draw attention to the damning impact of fossil fuels, the weekly vigil is just one of several sustainable and environmentally sensitive  initiatives being undertaken by the parish.

Lower Hut Anglicans recently hosted a community open day in conjunction with Mountains to Sea to raise awareness of Opahu Stream. Visitors were able to take part in species identification, try their hand at sun photography and learn more about both the path and history of Opahu stream – to raise awareness of the stream and get others on board to commit to conservation efforts for our awa.

We're in the 2024 Season of Creation and on topic last Sunday we "waste"ed time with Para Kore (Zero Waste)... We enjoyed a great visit from Paul Murray who shared great stuff in our service on the problem of what we do with all of our waste, starting with the excess we generate at the outset.

From August 29th to 31st, I had the pleasure of visiting Dunedin with Kristel van Houte, National Director of A Rocha Aotearoa, hosted by Selwyn Yeoman, convenor of A Rocha’s Dunedin local group. Our hope was to deepen connections with local churches working in the creation care space, and  to experience the creative ways they are embracing creation care as part of their mission.

On a beautiful spring morning, Kristel, Selwyn and I had the pleasure of visiting Flagstaff Community Church in Dunedin. When we arrived at Flagstaff Community Church, Rev. Brendon McRae welcomed us, dressed in his Hunting and Fishing gear, clearly in the midst of working on the church's native regeneration project.  He is a pastor who truly embodies the phrase "faith in action." Not only is he deeply invested in the spiritual growth of his congregation, but he is also equally passionate about the church’s role as kaitiaki of God’s good creation.

Since April this year, Co-Missioners Caro Willis and Maria Kirkland have seen the transformative power of community unfold at St Matthew's, Taitā, through their weekly commitment to the church’s community garden. The turning point came when a member of St Matt’s, a teacher from Capital Training who works with rangatahi (youth), approached the Missioners with a question: "Do you think I could bring my young people to the garden each week?"

Since then, a group of 4–6 rangatahi from Capital Training has joined the community gardening sessions each week for the last two school terms. They’ve gotten their hands dirty, participating in planting, harvesting, and cooking with produce from the garden. Each session concludes with shared kai (food) and whanaungatanga (connection time), bringing the participants closer together.