To date, over 60 congregations have signed the IPC Partner Congregation Pledge, joining in our efforts to protect and restore our shared waterways throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.   

By signing the IPC Partner Congregation Pledge faith communities are making a public commitment to:

  • Celebrate, respect, and revere the Earth’s blessings
  • Demonstrate good stewardship in the management of congregational land and facilities
  • Engage congregational members in the work of caring for the environment
  • Work together with Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake and other congregations to protect and restore our shared waterways. 

It’s truly inspiring to see so many congregations sign on to be a formal Partner Congregation! What is even more moving is to witness congregations from all across the watershed living out this call to be better stewards of the earth and all living things.

Here are just a few examples from some of our newest Partner Congregations:

In Baltimore City, Stillmeadow Community Fellowship is leading an incredible effort to restore a 10-acre urban forest and create a Peace Park, while Gwynn Oak United Methodist Church installed rain barrels to capture rain as it comes from their parsonage roof and installed a pollinator garden (check out this video!) 

In Salisbury, MD, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church is removing their impervious parking lot and replacing it with one that will capture and treat stormwater before it hits the Wicomico River.

In Arnold, MD, a Watershed Steward from Temple Beth Shalom led a tree planting at a local library as part of RePlant Anne Arundel. 

In Baltimore County, St. Thomas Episcopal Church reforested over 2 acres of land with trees, while Towson Presbyterian is in the process of  designing 2 rain gardens and cisterns project

In Centerville, MD, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church installed new rain gardens that provide habitat for wildlife and allow rainwater to percolate naturally into the ground. 

In Harford County, St. Mark Catholic Church planted 1.5 acres of trees and Churchville Presbtyrian is planning 2 rain gardens for their congregation. 

In Lancaster County, PA, Landisville Mennonite Church, Community Mennonite, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, UU of Lancaster, and Bright Side Baptist Church have all signed the pledge and participated with a total of  17  congregations in our “Trees of Peace” program that resulted in 122+ trees being planted. 

In Howard County, Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church reinvigorated their rain garden and built bridges with other congregations in the process.

The list goes on and on and spans a diverse range of faith traditions and geographies. 

This is just the beginning though. We're excited to be the recipient of an over $800,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation that will support this important work over the next 3 years. 

It takes a community to make the changes we want to see in our region, and there is plenty of room at the table for more congregations to sign our pledge and become a Partner Congregation.   

In fact, $500 is available to congregations in certain geographic regions that sign the Partner Congregation Pledge, attend our Faithful Green Leaders Training program, and commit to installing or maintaining a project with water quality improvement benefits.

If your congregation hasn’t signed on to be a Partner Congregation yet, will you join us in making a difference in how we honor and respect creation?  Click here to learn how your congregation can sign our Partner Congregation pledge.

 

For a full list of IPC's Partner Congregations, click here.