CREATION CARE MINISTRY
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The Episcopal Church’s Covenant for the Care of Creation is a commitment to practice loving formation, liberating advocacy, and life-giving conservation as individuals, congregations, ministries and dioceses. It is helpful to review this as our Creation Care Ministry moves forward using this covenant as our guide: In Jesus, God so loved the whole world. We follow Jesus, so we love the world God loves. Concerned about the global climate emergency, drawing from a range of approaches for our diverse contexts, we commit to form and restore loving, liberating, life-giving relationships with all of Creation. LOVING FORMATION For God’s sake, we will grow our love for the Earth and all of life through preaching, teaching, storytelling, and prayer. LIBERATING ADVOCACY For God’s sake, standing alongside marginalized, vulnerable peoples, we will advocate and act to repair Creation and seek the liberation and flourishing of all people. LIFE-GIVING CONSERVATION For God’s sake, we will adopt practical ways of reducing our climate impact and living more humbly and gently on Earth as individuals, households, congregations, institutions, and dioceses. To learn more about Immanuel’s Creation Care Ministry and Action Team, contact Denise Freeland at eco.voce@verizon.net. |
RESOURCES
Click here to read "The Climate Crisis: Here's How YOU Can Help"
Click here for information on how to reduce, reuse, and recycle
Click here for a comprehensive guide on planting native trees: why and how.
Click here for the latest information and FAQs on Immanuel’s solar project.
Click here for the list of native plants growing in Immanuel's garden.
CREATION CARE NEWS
January 2023
Solar Project Update Since our solar panels went live on June 7, 2022, they have produced over 36,500 kWh of clean, sustainable electricity. This represents 56 percent of the electricity our solar vendor, SES, expects the system to generate annually. It also represents over 56,000 pounds of carbon dioxide not emitted into the atmosphere and is the equivalent of 420 trees being planted! Zabriskie/Parish Hall used the same amount of electricity (kWh) for June-December 2022 as it did from June-December 2021. Because the solar panels generated 63 percent of the electricity the building needed during the last seven months of 2022, the cost was $3,143.82 versus $6,648.88 during the same seven months in 2021 – a savings to date of $3500. And a bonus – in addition to the savings, by going solar, Immanuel is receiving approximately $3200/year from the Virginia SREC program—the first check (for $1,221) arrived in December 2022. The solar panels will generate the most electricity in spring, summer, and early fall (March-October). It will take a complete year of monitoring both the solar electricity production and checking our Dominion bills for annual generation and dollar numbers. Many thanks to all those Immanuel parishioners who invested in our little corner of “this fragile earth, our island home.” November 15, 2022 Solar Project Update Since our solar panels went live on June 7, 2022, they have produced over 32,000 kWh of clean, sustainable electricity. This represents 49 percent of the electricity our solar vendor, SES, expects the system to generate annually. It also represents over 50,000 pounds of carbon dioxide not emitted into the atmosphere and is the equivalent of 380 trees being planted! Immanuel has received four months of Dominion bills since our solar panels went live. Our total electricity cost for Zabriskie/Parish Hall for June, July, August, and September 2022 is $1,672.96. Below chart shows how many kWh the building used during June-September 2022 as compared with same four months in both 2021 and 2019.
Zabriskie/Parish Hall used the same amount of electricity (kWh) in June-Sep 2022 and June-Sep 2021--but because the solar panels generated most of the electricity the building needed between June and September 2022, it cost 35% of what was spent in 2021 for that same 4-month period! 😊 SES estimated we would save $6,500 annually on our electricity bills; electricity cost savings accrued in the first four months of solar operation is $3,100 (as compared with cost of same four months in 2021). As we approach shorter winter days (less hours of sunshine), our solar panels will produce less electricity – until the days start to become longer again. However, it’s good to know that in their first five months, our Immanuel solar panels have produced almost half the electricity that is annually expected. You can click here to monitor the daily, weekly, and monthly electricity output. July 21, 2021 Sacred Space - Memorial Garden Our team continues to think about how to integrate sustainable practices into our planning and care for the grounds at our church. We are working with Chain Bridge Native Landscapes, a local company focused on integrating native plants and sustainable design, on several areas of our property that need new planting, especially to deal with rainwater management and erosion control. The newly-planted area behind Zabriskie Chapel features Packera aurea (Golden ragwort), Itea virginica (Virginia Sweetspire), native ferns, and rushes, to name a few. A complete list of the garden plantings will soon be available. We hope these plants inspire parishioners and visitors alike to consider incorporating native plants for use in home gardens.  Kevin Kirby, Buildings and Grounds, and Kathryn Jackson Haskin, Senior Warden, take a break after weeding the newly-planted area.
As we go through this landscaping process, we are also considering the other areas on our property, most especially the Memorial Garden, and we hope to contract with this company for further discussion and planning throughout the summer and fall. We have been blessed to have strong parishioner support over many years to care for the gardens and other spaces on the property, and we look forward to engaging many in the parish in projects on the grounds through 2021 and beyond.
May 20, 2021 Good Samaritan Collection Bin New! The City of Alexandria is committed to recovering resources sustainably and has launched a Reuse Map and Directory. Reusing items is an effective way to save natural resources, protect the environment, and reduce costs. 
Immanuel’s Good Samaritan collection bin for gently used clothing is now listed in the Alexandria Reuse Directory under “Donate or Drop Off.”
Our bin is located just off the Zabriskie parking area. Trex Bench
Our Trex Bench has arrived and was assembled and placed in the Memorial Garden by Shawn Whitman. 
It is a powerful reminder that our parishioners and friends kept 500 pounds of plastic bags out of our local streams, rivers, and bellies of wildlife by donating the plastic bags and films to Immanuel’s Recycling Challenge. Our bench is the product responsibly created for us by Trex from our 500 pounds of plastic collected. And all of this was happening during the pandemic.
We invite you to go sit on the new bench and take some time to reflect on the past year. Thank you to all who participated in the Recycling Challenge and for caring for God’s Creation in this way. --Submitted by Denise Freeland |