Embedded Files
St. Andrew's is celebration a season of Creation Care from September 1 - October 4, 2025.
A Reflection by Iris Murdoch (1919-1999)
People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.
This Creation Care season we lean into our joy in the wonders and gifts of creation knowing that we have many talents to share in support of a healthy, thriving Earth.
Save the Dates!
September 10, Wednesday, 6 - 7:30PM - Vegetarian Potluck with Speaker – Sign Up!
Living Lands Trust Director, David Outman who will lead a guided discussion rooted in his own experience and evolution over the course of two decades in land protection and stewardship work. All ideas, questions, and perspectives are welcomed—the more the merrier and richer!
September 13, Saturday, 9am-noon - Garden Work Day
The St. Andrew’s Wildlife Garden along with the Pocket Forest up the street provide an oasis for migrating birds and butterflies, and the many critters who call Church Street home! Come help us get things ready for the fall.
September 21, Sunday - Planting Native Species with Grow Native Mass Afternoon in Templeton.
Help restore habitat with GrowNativeMass. We will share our talents to plant saplings and other young native species on Dwelly Farm in Templeton. Spaces are limited!
September 27, Saturday - National Public Lands Day - 4PM Hike to Matisse Forest Bells.
Talk about Rocky Hill Conservation Area, Groton Conservation Trust, and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. (Sunset at 6:40 PM)
October 4, Saturday, 9:00 am to 3:30 pm - APLM Regional Climate Event at St. Andrew's Church
Revival and Resilience: Worship in a Time of Climate Crisis: Join us for a day of worship, reflection, learning, and feasting to explore ways to bring our worship tradition alive in a time of climate crisis. How can our prayer – at home, at church, and in nature – reknit our relationship with the earth and build our resilience and hope? We will meet at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Ayer MA, and spend part of our day at a pocket forest in Ayer. Sponsored by Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission and open to people everyone in Province I & II, as well as the ELCA New England Synod. More information and registration here. Questions? Contact Amy McCreath (amccreath@diomass.org).
October 5, Sunday, 9:30am – Blessing of the Animals
St Andrew’s Responds to the Climate Crisis
Our parishioners are concerned about the impacts of climate change on our planet and all of God’s creation. St. Andrew’s has been focused on Climate Action since 2007 when we responded to a 350.org call to action to ring our bell 350 times to raise the climate alarm. It worked! The police turned up to find out what we were up to.
In 2010, we launched a 6-week long Go Greener campaign to highlight the connection between church, God, Creation Care, and climate action. Our challenge was to get people to take action through learning, community events, and the change to win prizes. The whole Go Greener event was open to the community.
Since then, we have conducted multiple energy assessments on our buildings with the support of the Diocese of Massachusetts, HEET, and MassSave. We took action to conserve energy by replacing windows and the church roof, increasing insulation, replacing lightbulbs, installing more efficient heating/cooling equipment, and more. We have held book studies focused on climate change as well using the Earth Gospel. We have encouraged carbon/energy fasting during Lent and our Teen/Tween groups organized a climate ribbon event in 2022. We have had parishioners participate in Diocesan taskforces and events focused on Climate Change.
Climate Liturgy Project - 2024
During Lent 2024, we will experience different worship rituals and prayers, and we will create community spaces to talk about organizing climate action. We will open doors to others in our communities who care about climate change.
Climate Liturgy Project - 2023
In 2023, St. Andrew’s was selected as one of 6 parishes from across North America to participate in a year-long partnership to develop new resources and practices for worship and mission in response to climate change.
The environment is not a luxury item. It is the table on which all life sits.
- Bishop Michael Curry
Prayer for Creation Care
With God’s grace, let peace and justice flow through us all as we PRAY, LEARN, ACT, and ADVOCATE.
When we PRAY we ground ourselves in faith and hope.
When we LEARN, we realize that we are not alone and change is possible.
Together these give us strength to ACT and ADVOCATE so that all God’s creatures can enjoy a peaceful, just, and sustainable life, in harmony with each other and with God’s creation. (https://www.diomass.org/creation-care)
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