Join us in June for the next Faithful Green Leaders Training. As part of this program, you will be one of the more than 190 congregations throughout the Chesapeake Bay area that have answered the call to form green teams in their communities! Come together to honor and protect Creation at your congregation.

What is the Faithful Green Leaders Training?

This special FREE 3-part training is geared to give congregations the tools and support to launch a thriving Green Team! Alongside inspiring guest speakers and IPC staff, participants will learn the necessary skills to grow and strengthen a lasting team. Additionally, teams will be supported by IPC regional staff to help you learn more about the actions and impact you might be able to have through your congregation and surrounding communities. You will also learn what green teams are doing as a result of the support they receive from IPC.

The June 3-part training will be held via Zoom from 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. on the following dates:

Section 1: Monday, June 3rd, 2024

Section 2: Monday, June 10th, 2024

Section 3: Monday, June 24th, 2024

**All attendees are strongly encouraged to come with at least 1 or 2 other people from their congregation. Check out our team building resources and reach out if you need help!

PDF Flyer: LINK | JPEG Flyer: LINK | Facebook Event Page LINK

Over the years we have been inspired by the fantastic actions that our teams have taken on. Here are just a few examples from Pennsylvania. To see more check out our full list and map of green teams here from throughout the Chesapeake Bay area.

Bright Side Baptist Church
Bright Side has been one of IPC's One Water Partnership congregations since 2021; they have been dedicated to caring for their local watershed and sharing their love for the environment with the surrounding community. Since they became involved, they have installed two rain gardens and planted several native canopy trees on their property. Their congregation has also shared their enthusiasm with their neighbors by opening their campus to garden tours, workshops, and more. In 2024 they will once again invite community members from across the region to join them during Lancaster Water Week so they can share their experiences and inspire others to take actions on their own properties.

Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
The Creation Care at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd has been busy over the last year! With the help of a National Fish and Wildlife grant and the assistance of IPC and Lancaster Clean Water Partners, Good Shepherd has been making their campus a greener, cleaner place. Mayapple Landscaping installed a rain garden last fall to help reduce flooding on their property and remove impervious surfaces around their campus playground. The congregation was so inspired that they made the decision to give up a row of parking spots in the back of their lot to install a second, larger rain garden basin to further mitigate flood concerns. This project will occur in concert with stormwater best management practices being installed and the use of gentle landscaping techniques on neighboring properties under the management of a local property management firm.

Ascension Lutheran Church
Ascension Lutheran Church has been very involved in campus greening efforts since becoming engaged with IPC through the Faithful Green Leaders Training program. Work has begun on a campus master plan that will transform the property; in March they worked with Stroud Water Research Center to install more than 120 trees in a riparian zone on their property. They also worked the contractor Waxwing Ecoworks to begin work on a pollinator meadow and other native plantings on the property. In the future, they will increase the size of the meadow, install several bioswales, and replant existing retention basins. They have also held community educational events, including a “Going Green!” education day this past April when they invited speakers including IPC, Waxwing Ecoworks, Stroud Water Research Center, and Lancaster Conservancy to present to congregants and other community members about the importance of clean water, our spiritual and physical connections to our environment, and how to create habitat for native wildlife in backyards and gardens.

Bonnie Sorak (Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard, Harford)	Mollie Rudow Outreach Coordinator (Anne Arundel, Baltimore County, Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico, Worcester, Caroline, Talbot)	Sarah Redden Outreach Coordinator (Montgomery, Frederick, Prince George's Co.'s, DMV)	Mike Hudson Outreach Coordinator (Lancaster, PA.)