BlueGreen Rogation Days
In the ancient tradition of the church, the days leading up to the Ascension of Jesus, on the fortieth day of Easter, were marked as "Rogation Days." The major practice on Rogation days was to "beat the bounds," walking the boundary of the parish. This ancient tradition invites modern Christians to bring our attention to our physical environment and the beauty of God's Creation.
This tradition invites us at St. John's to a different kind of "beating of the bounds," a tour of our BlueGreen work. So, as we at St. John's care for God's creation, we turn our attention to three areas: garden, water and energy.
Garden
The Grow-to-Give Garden, founded in the Spring of 2012 is now in its 9th year! We have seven garden beds by the side of St. John's Pond. Even in our current moment, we have sweet peas, radishes, carrots, garlic and onions already growing. Soon there will be bush beans in the ground. There are seed starts of tomatoes, peppers, beets, broccoli, squash, parsley and basil growing under lights in Bleecker Hall! You can see our first radish here!
Water
St. John's continues our commitment to understanding and improving the water quality in the pond and in the harbor. We are partnering again with Friends of the Bay on an Oyster Gardening initiative to improve the water quality of Cold Spring Harbor. You can find out more about that program below. Friends of the Bay and the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Protection Committee are working with St. John's on a proposal to help to restore the tidal wetland at the southern end of Cold Spring Harbor. We are also working on a project to better understand the water quality of the St. John's Pond.
Energy
We are currently blessed with a number of opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of our buildings. St. John's has partnered with LICAN to pursue state funding for congregations who want to update their heating and cooling systems, as well as other ways to save on energy. We have secured $10 million in funding for congregations in NY! We also have a team exploring a possible solar partnership with the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and looking at ways for St. John's to take advantage of these funding opportunities.
I pray that God will continue to bless this work! If you feel a stirring in your heart to become a part of it, please reach out to me by email ([email protected])!
In Peace,
Mary Beth Mills-Curran
Curate
Tags: Newsletter / May 2020 / BlueGreen Theology / Latest Posts