Our 2017 Annual Report captures the diverse ways in which the network lived out the Green Rule and made good use of our many programs last year. We looked at regenerating places of worship to better serve our communities, and exploring how, as faith communities, we can be resilience hubs in readying ourselves for extreme weather events before disaster strikes. Our network members grew communities by planting and tending gardens in cities and towns and participating in the Faith Commuter Challenge to get to worship without cars. Many of us accompanied Indigenous groups as allies, in protecting the life-giving waters of the land’s Great Lakes. Together, we came closer to the goal of a healthy, sustainable future for the common good of all people.

Iris, Vivian, and June enjoy the social aspect of carpooling, the most popular mode of transportation to church.

submitted by Maureen Peniuk, Crescent Fort Rouge United Church, Winnipeg

We improved our Faith Commuter Challenge participation rate to 80%! Last year it was 70%. What a fun way to celebrate the sustainable ways that we commute to church and “Live with Respect in Creation”. Carpooling (51%) is our preferred “green’ form of transportation to church. Walking (18%) is the second most popular mode, with transit (8%) and cycling (3%) much less common. The remaining 20% drive alone.

Photo by Michael Hudson

St. Cuthbert, Leaside is an attractive red brick church, but in environmental circles it’s known by another colour — dark green. The church has won the Green Sacred Space Award for 2018, given to the most environmentally friendly place of worship in Toronto. It is only the second Anglican church in the city to receive the award since it was established in 2000.

“We’re delighted and pleased that our efforts are making a difference,” says Heather Conolly, a member of the church and its property coordinator. “We’re keepers of the world and we want to pass on to the next generation what was handed down to us.”

Read original blog post by the Diocese of Toronto…