ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION

The mission of the Environmental Action Committee (EAC) of Village Church is to be a bold witness by advocating environmental justice for all creation. We are committed to making Village Church more environmentally aware and sustainable as an institution by reducing its environmental impact and by practicing, modeling and teaching faithful and responsible stewardship of God's Creation.  Our call is to promote earth-keeping within and beyond the walls of our church.  Our hope is to raise people’s awareness and to stir their conscience so that they might incorporate creation care into their daily living.

Throughout the year, EAC oversees the ongoing recycling efforts of the church and offers environmental education opportunities through Village U, Sunday school classes and displays.
​  
Under the leadership of EAC, Village Church has been certified for 11 consecutive years as an Earth Care Congregation. Earth Care Congregations is a program sponsored by PC(USA)'s Department of Environmental Ministries. Certification means our church is one of over 200 Presbyterian Churches nationally that have integrated environmental practices and thinking into its church life by completing projects and activities in the four fields of worship, education, facilities and outreach.  The purpose of this program is to inspire churches to care for God’s earth in a holistic way by incorporating earth care into their mission and ministry.
​CLICK HERE for a listing of Village Church Environmental Initiatives and Awards. 

environmental care resources

Make a difference in Kansas City, educate yourself, and see what others are doing locally to support the environment! Check out our environmental care resources page.

JOIN US

​The Environmental Action Committee welcomes your participation. We are always looking for new members to join our committee as well as volunteers to help with activities and events.  We typically meet at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of every  month at the church.  Contact Jerry Rees or Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka for more information or to learn how you can get involved.

earth care awareness week at village church
oct. 24-31, 2021

​ 
Songs were sung, prayers were prayed, liturgy was spoken, a class was taught, Climate Change Matters tote bags were handed out, and earth care sermons focusing on climate change were preached:
  1. Rev. Tom Are preached Dry Land from the Waters at all services on Oct. 24.
  2. Rev. Zach Walker preached Aliens and Tenants in the Mission Campus Sanctuary during the morning services on Oct. 31.
  3. Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka preached You Pick What You Plant in the Antioch Campus Sanctuary during the morning service on Oct. 31.
  4. Rev. Hallie Hottle peached To Dwell Among at The Gathering in the afternoon on Oct. 31.

Click here to watch video recordings of sermons 1, 2, and 4.

Climate Change Matters banners (pictured below) were displayed on the lawns at our Mission and Antioch Campuses.

PROJECTS

monarch waystation

Click here to read more about our monarch waystation project at 99th and Mission Rd.

solar panels

Click here to read more about our solar panel project at the Child & Family Development Center at 99th St & Mission Rd.

PC(USA) Overture 08-06: The Earth is the Lord’s

In June 2018, in response to the accelerating environmental crisis threatening God’s People and God’s Creation, PC(USA)'s 223rd General Assembly (2018) unanimously approved Overture 08-06 entitled The Earth is the Lord’s—Not Ours to Ruin: Priorities for a New Moral Era.  With this Overture, the national leadership was calling upon the whole church to raise its prophetic voice on the urgent issue of climate change and to participate in healing the earth, our home and God’s gift for the future of all life.  More specifically, it calls for the clergy to accept the mantle of moral leadership and to speak from the pulpits what must be done.  CLICK HERE to read this Overture. 
 
Energized by this overture, the Environmental Action Committee decided to promote this Overture, making it its major initiative and focus for the foreseeable future.  EAC called upon Village Church to join the national church in its call to prayer and action to initiate a new moral era.

RESOURCES

for earth day & beyond

Celebrate the 51st anniversary of Earth Day and join the Environmental Action Committee by doing any or all of 10 suggested actions.

FOR LENT & BEYOND

For those who observe the season of Lent and care about creation, the Environmental Action Committee suggests reading the 2021 Tread Lightly for Lent daily calendar that provides daily reflections and actions during Lent.

EARTH CARE REFERENCES

faith-based environmental websites
Jerry Rees
Email
913-568-4250

Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka
Senior Associate Pastor and Director of Adult Faith Formation
​913-671-2323
email