News & Announcements

Spring is upon us! Time to shake off winter and get outside to enjoy the fresh air. Spring is the busiest gardening time of the year and we need your help. We will have both scheduled and pop-up work sessions as we dodge around the vagaries of spring weather. Gather in the main parking lot for our first scheduled work session on Saturday, March 23, starting at 9 a.m. Stay for as long or as little as you can. Come and enjoy fellowship in these beautiful, sacred spaces!

In the first several weeks of spring, our work sessions will focus on replenishing the wood chip pathways, clearing leftover stalks and seed heads, and removing invasive plants (particularly garlic mustard and wineberry vines). Later this year, we will be adding new plants in selected areas of the woodlands and some of our church gardens. If you would like to work with the creation care team, subscribe to updates at catonsvillepres.org/ministries/creation.

Beyond helping at church, you can give back to creation at home! First, live sustainably. Eat a more plant-based diet and be sure to reuse and recycle. Secondly, use native plants in your gardens. Native plants are easier to maintain, pollinator-friendly, and beautiful. Check with Ron to see if there are some transplants you can re-home from the church grounds.

As we enter Lent, a new focus and connection to creation might enliven the season for you. Below are three specific Lenten disciplines/studies to support your Lenten journey. Be sure to check out Braiding Sweetgrass for its beautiful storytelling.

Resources for Reconnection and Refocusing on Creation

• PC(USA) Lenten Calendar
• Lenten Creation Challenge
• A Ground Faith: Reconnection with Creator and Creation in the Season of Lent by Janet Parker and Solveig Nilsen-Goodin.
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer.