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Land
Stewardship Committee
Mary Help of Christians Church
Parkland, FL
When the Mary Help of Christians Church in Parkland,
Florida constructed its church, they also established
a Land Stewardship Committee to provide a starting
example and continuing inspiration about caring
for the environment that surrounded them. The
Committee was founded by parishioners Paul Gore,
Helen and Roy Reynolds and Fr. Thomas Wisniewski
and upon the mission to provide homiletic messages
on land stewardship concepts at the church, local
and state level through the publication of a monthly
newsletter, The Green Leaf.
Gore, who serves as both editor of the newsletter
and director of the Committee, describes the efforts
of the six Green Leaf staff members to
overcome the initial skepticism of the Mary Help
of Christians Church members when they started
publishing in 1999. In time, though, parishioners
grew to look forward to receiving the publication
each month, distributed once a month at Mass and
containing a mixture of nature news and wildlife
sightings in the church’s garden and personal
or inspirational essays on sensing the sacredness
of nature and humankind’s call to protect
it.
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While not openly activist in its tone or content,
The Green Leaf's valuable
contribution to faith-based environmentalism is
its personal focus: urging parishioners to reconsider
the land around them as a part of the gift of
creation; highlighting those elements of the environment
peculiar to its region, and rejoicing in the many
manifestations of nature’s beauty.
Through Green Leaf editorials and the
other efforts of the Land Stewardship Committee,
Gore and his associates encourage parishioners
to make individual connections with the corner
of nature contained in their own backyard, by
using the Church garden for prayer, for meetings,
for contemplation, for games, as a site for memorials
and time capsules, and as a small-scale representation
of the holy circle of life, death and rebirth.
Contact Information:
Mary Help of Christians Church
5980 N. University Drive
Parkland, FL 33067
Phone: (954) 323-8012
Fax: (954) 323-8011
Website: www.mhocrc.org |
