Mennonite Church Canada's commitment to sustainability

Sustainability is defined as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Our Common Future, 1987). Recent decades have seen increasing awareness of the importance of the three key aspects of sustainability: environmental, social and economic. In January of 2020 Mennonite Church Canada’s Joint Council approved the development of a strategy to give leadership in moving towards greater sustainability within its sphere of influence.

We seek to:

live into Mennonite faith statements calling for care of creation and social well-being

address the interrelation between sustainability aspects, including the reality that negative effects of environmental degradation are borne disproportionately by the poor, contribute to growing inequality and cause social conflict

respond to growing expectations for organizations to address the sustainability of their activities.

The goals of the Sustainability Leadership Group are to:

focus on addressing environmental and social impacts while remaining economically sustainable

introduce measures to increase the sustainability of Mennonite Church Canada’s activities

with the help of partners, develop tools and frameworks to help congregations, regional churches, the nationwide church and partner agencies address the sustainability of their activities.

Meet Mennonite Church Canada’s Sustainability Leadership Group

Mar 15th, 2021

Meet Mennonite Church Canada’s Sustainability Leadership Group

“Leadership and commitment are some of the most critical pieces in helping an organization become more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable in all that it does,” says Tim Wiebe Neufeld, executive minister for Mennonite Church Alberta and chair of Mennonite Church Canada’s Sustainability Leadership Group (SLG).

The SLG focusses on the environmental and social impacts of Mennonite Church activities. It identifies ways the regional churches and nationwide community can improve in these areas while remaining economically sustainable.

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Resources

With Earth Day (April 22, 2021) approaching, Mennonite Church Canada’s Sustainability Leadership Group is encouraging congregations and study groups to look at the biblical and theological aspects of caring for God’s creation. One resource that is available for this study is the “Every Creature Singing” curriculum developed by the Mennonite Creation Care Network for MC-USA in 2014, and later adapted for the Canadian context. The curriculum is free (including a leader’s guide) and available through CommonWord.

“Every Creature Singing” uses the concept of the “watershed,” both as an encouragement to look at local ecological harm and sustainability, and as a metaphor for “a watershed moment,” a “point in time when everything comes together and we must act” (KAIROS Watershed Discipleship Workshop). This approach focuses on relationships and discipleship. What are your relationships with land, water, and living species in your local context? How can you improve these relationships as a faithful disciple to God, the Creator?

A study group at Foothill Mennonite Church in Calgary recently worked through “Every Creature Singing.” As one participant, John Dueck, comments:

“The curriculum got me thinking about where the water that runs off my yard actually goes. I walked 'downhill' to the creek that drains my part of the city, my neighbourhood, my yard. As a result, I learned something about my physical environment. What happens on my yard impacts the wider ecosystem.”

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