Living in Fort Collins, a beautiful and sacred part of God’s creation, we are called to reverence, prayerfulness, proclamation, conversation, and action. In the face of the challenges impacting creation, we seek bold solutions. We shall become educated, informed, and equipped, avoiding aggressive and confrontational attitudes and actions that polarize and divide.
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Mission for Creation Care
We invite you to participate and join in Creation Care at Saint Luke’s!
“Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us fellow workers in your creation: Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Create and sustain a network at Saint Luke’s dedicated to the love, care, and protection of Creation through intentional and sustained engagement with the property entrusted to our care.
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Pattern our daily lives as caretakers of Creation, standing in solidarity with the most vulnerable victims of the impact of climate change for the liberation and flourishing of all God’s people. Work with others in shared advocacy to protect and renew the earth and its communities.
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Set climate mitigation benchmarks as individuals and as a congregation, to live more simply, humbly, and gently on the Earth. Minimize the environmental footprint of our church, honoring the land and practicing mindful stewardship of our planet and its resources, that generations yet to come may continue to know and enjoy God’s bounty.
Our Creation Care Journey to Date:
This journey began during Covid when our HVAC contractor discovered inadequacies in our building’s fresh air circulation. Our 1964 HVAC system needs to be replaced, preferably with an environmentally sustainable system. In the fall of 2021, A Home for All class was created for interested individuals to learn about our building’s history, the history of our religious tradition and the challenges facing our wider community. At the end of the first few months’ work, the group felt called to care for creation. Our HVAC contractor, Tolin Mechanical, had performed an environmental audit and created a comprehensive project charter for a net-zero carbon emissions building with a goal of near-zero operating expenses. The proposed plan would be implemented over the course of five or more years. The City of Fort Collins Utilities informed us that we can sell back any excess electricity that we generate, offsetting system maintenance costs. Thus far we envision corporate and grant funding for the project including a new HVAC system, geo-thermal energy, and a solar panel array on the church and on a parking lot canopy. From this project would generate:
Near-Zero emissions Near-Zero operating expenses Reliability Efficiency Health and Safety Resilience
Additional Creation Care Goals:
Educating the congregation and community Working with K-12 schools and higher education Creating a community garden Worm composting for kiddos Xeriscaping the grounds Building a labyrinth for spiritual practice, outside worship, and sharing with the community Increased onsite recycling
· Hosting eco-friendly social events