Faith Based Environmental Initiatives in Canada

About: Mennonite Church Canada (and Mennonite Church USA) were formed in 2000 through the restructuring of The Mennonite Church and the General Conference of the Mennonite Church. Mennonite Church Canada’s vision is “to grow as communities of grace, joy and peace so that God’s healing and hope flow through us to the world”.

Environmental Activities:

• In the 1960s and 1970s, some churches in Saskatchewan were involved in protesting a proposed uranium processing facility.
• Early internal statements and resolutions include:
  • “Christian Stewardship of Energy Resources” (General Conference of the Mennonite Church, 1977)
  • Joint resolution by The Mennonite Church and the General Conference of the Mennonite Church to form the Mennonite Environmental Taskforce (1991)
• Mennonite Environmental Taskforce (1991-2000): promoted environmental awareness within the church in Canada and the United States, emphasizing that concern for creation is a necessary part of Christian commitment.
• Recent internal statements and resolutions include:
  • Faith and Life Committee Affirmation “that God is calling us to commit ourselves to discern the paths of faithfulness to be good stewards of the earth.” (2007)
  • Green Assembly Resolution (2007) regarding greening gatherings, theological affirmation and commitment to creation care.
  • Climate Change/Divestment resolution (2014), which resulted in the formation of the Climate Change Working Group (2014-2015) to explore divestment from fossil fuels.
• Mennonite Church Canada has signed several interfaith statements:
  • “The Canadian Interfaith Call for Leadership and Action on Climate Change” (2011)
  • “On Promoting Climate Justice and Ending Poverty in Canada Faith Communities in Canada Speak Out” (2015)
  • “The United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties 22 Interfaith Statement” (2016)
• The Mennonite Creation Care Network (2005-present) is a joint ministry of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA, with support from Everence and the Merry Lea Environmental Centre of Goshen College. Its activities include:
  • Providing support to church leadership on creation care issues and connecting and supporting environmentally engaged Mennonites, with focus on congregations;
  • Green Patchwork Congregations: encourages congregations to engage in creation care actions, such as creating community gardens, installing solar panels, or doing river cleanups.
  • Presenting creation care themed workshops regularly at national assemblies. In 2016, the Canadian branch helped organize a Creation Care Consultation in conjunction with the national assembly;
  • Sharing stories of environmental work within the community on its website;
  • Producing resources such as the Every Creature Singing study curriculum (2016) and Green Guidelines for Conference Planners.
• Executive Minister, Willard Metzger (2011-2018) attended the United Nations Conference of the Parties meeting on climate change in Durban, South Africa, in 2011, as a Canadian representative for the World Council of Churches, and participated in the interfaith Poverty and Climate Change tour in 2015.

Staff:

• The Indigenous-Settle Relations position includes environmental concerns.
• The Mennonite Creation Care Network has several part-time staff in the US. Canadian volunteers serve on the Network Council.

Partnerships:        

• Mennonite Central Committee: https://mcccanada.ca/
• A Rocha: https://arocha.ca/
• Christian Peacemaker Teams: https://www.cpt.org/
• Citizens for Public Justice: https://www.cpj.ca/
• KAIROS: https://www.kairoscanada.org/
• Faith and the Common Good – Greening Sacred Spaces: https://www.faithcommongood.org/greening_sacred_spaces

About: The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is a global non-profit organization that “strives to share God’s love and compassion through relief, development and peacebuilding”.

Environmental Activities

• Issued a “Statement on the Christian and the Environment” (1984).
• In 1991, MCC Ontario set up an Environmental Advisory Committee and Consultation.
• Native Gardening program (1977-2002)
• International projects include reforestation, sustainable agriculture, environmental education, and environmental advocacy
• Environmental publications include:
  • More-with-Less Cookbook (Longacre, 1976, Herald Press)
  • Living More with Less (Longacre, 1980, Herald Press)
  • Make Peace with the Earth (1981): film about Native Gardening program
  • Earth Stewardship Packet (1992)
  • Earth Trek: Celebrating and Sustaining God’s Creation (Moyer 2004, Herald
  • Press)
  • Living More with Less (Longacre & Weaver-Zercher , 2010, Herald Press)
  • Simply in Season (Lind & Hockman-Wert, 2005, Herald Press).
• Ten Thousand Villages (fair trade) and Thrift Stores
• Blogs: Creation Crossroads (MCC Ontario); No Waste Wednesdays (MCC Saskatchewan)
• MCC Ontario had a staff person working with congregations on greening their activities and retrofitting their buildings
• MCC Manitoba particited on the Interchurch Council on Hydropower
• Several MCC offices have undergone retrofitting, environmental assessments are conducted on all projects, carbon outputs are tracked 

Partnerships:

• A Rocha: https://arocha.ca/
• Canadian Food Grains Bank: https://foodgrainsbank.ca/
• KAIROS: https://www.kairoscanada.org/  
• Faith and the Common Good – Greening Sacred Spaces: https://www.faithcommongood.org/greening_sacred_spaces
• Kindred Credit Union: https://www.kindredcu.com/
• Project Ploughshares: https://ploughshares.ca/

Mennonite Church Canada

Mennonite Central Committee