We are honored to announce that FCC is now designated as a Creation Justice church through the United Church of Christ (UCC). The UCC has eight justice related designations (Open and Affirming is a designation that our church attained over 25 years ago). Now we join 208 other UCC congregations around the country that are recognized for their environmental commitments.

For the past year, the Green Team has worked to discern how we can embody the work of caring for creation. We have held plastic and Styrofoam drives, provided information in the Shalom and daily emails about environmental issues, been re-certified by BRING after reviewing and improving our church use of earth resources, adopted an area at Turtle Flats for restoration, and offered adult education groups.

Currently, we are engaged in an energy audit with EWEB. All these efforts have led to the covenant our church approved in January that documents our commitment to earth stewardship and this new designation. Thank you to the entire congregation for all your efforts to make addressing climate change a true priority.

Deep gratitude goes out to our FCC Green Team, ’Ohana Youth Ministries and all who came out on Earth Day to remove invasive species at Turtle Flats. We removed mountains of blackberry, english ivy, and teasel, while also planting some native species. Our ongoing work making a significant impact at the confluence of the Middle and Coast Fork Willamette Rivers. Many thanks to all in our community for your support of Earth Stewardship… stay tuned for more opportunities at Turtle Flats this summer. We had 60 volunteers, let’s keep up the great momentum!

Please contact Mark Lindberg at markl@fcceugene.org if you are interested in participation. One Earth, One Love, Many Hands!