CreationCare

Virginia Synod Tapestry Team Creation Justice

The Virginia Synod Tapestry Team is focusing on Creation Justice from August to October. In the first month, August, you are encouraged to visit the Lutherans Restoring Creation website for the daily devotional book Stewardship of Creation: A Thirty Day Discipline put together by students at Lutheran Theological Seminary Chicago. The daily Bible passages and reflections are a wonderful way to look at how you can "green" your life and participate actively in Creation Care.

Recycling Program with DAR

Luther Memorial Lutheran Church is now the home of a new recycling project administered by The Alleghany Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). This DAR chapter elected to take part in a recycle program offered by the Trex Company for their community service project in 2022. Their goal is to collect 500 pounds of plastic film packaging which local community recycling programs do not usually accept. Once 500 pounds are collected, the materials are sent to Trex, who will create a bench from the recycled materials and return it to us. Benches received from this project will be located on the grounds of Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, where they will be available to anyone in the community as a place for rest and meditation. Other organizations in the New River Valley have participated in this program with enormous success.

The collection box for this recycling program is in the back of the Luther Memorial fellowship hall. Items that qualify for recycling in this program include produce bags, grocery bags, bread bags, dry cleaning bags, overwrap from toilet paper or paper towels, and any bag with a recycle symbol of 2 or 4. All items should be clean and dry. Click here for more information on recyclable materials.

"No-Mow" Pollinator Demonstration Garden

What is our "No-Mow" Pollinator Garden?

The purpose of the areas (marked above by a red "X") include intentionally planting native pollinator plants in the midst of a no mow area

as well as observing naturally returning plants to the area. The immediate objectives are to reduce regular mowing on a portion of our property

to lower our carbon emissions, reduce storm water runoff, improve soil health, aid pollinators with host and nectar native plants, increase

successful song bird clutches by increasing the number and diversity of caterpillars and provide a dynamic way to educate and enjoy creation

on our property for congregation members and the community.

Why have a "No-Mow" Pollinator Garden?

Luther Memorial has an extensive property surrounding the church buildings. The majority of this property is turf lawn that requires constant mowing during the growing season. Mowed grass lawns have become an urgent environmental problem. The CreationCare committee wants to reduce the congregation's environmental impact, create a better habitat for insects, pollinators, birds and wildlife, and provide a beautiful educational area for our members and community.

We have a bluebird house!

Just in time for spring, we have installed a new bluebird house

at our "no-mow" pollinator garden! Thanks to Carol Reynolds for donating the house, and to Mark Barrow for getting it erected and adding a guard

to keep predators from raiding eggs and young. Find out more about bluebirds here.

What are our goals?

Our initial goal with the LMLC no mow pollinator areas is to establish healthy, low maintenance areas to meet two of the goals above including 1) naturalized or unmowed turf grass that is left to grow wild; and 3) native or naturalized landscapes where turf is replaced with native plants that are climate-friendly and can thrive in local conditions with no watering once established. Our long-term goal is to establish the demonstration garden and the entire church property as a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat.

Guide to Green Shopping

"Unleash the Wild on your Backyard"

Guide to Green Shopping

What does shopping have to do with the environment? A lot, actually! When people shop, the choices that they make have a profound effect on the world around them. To help protect the environment, people have to make intelligent and thoughtful decisions about what they buy and how they go about shopping. Visit the ""Guide to Green Shopping" to find out more.

Sustainable Blacksburg

"Unleash the Wild on your Backyard"

Guide to Green Shopping

The vision of Sustainable Blacksburg is for Blacksburg to become a model of community sustainability for Virginia. We want to preserve and enhance sustainable living in Blacksburg and environs by promoting clean energy, smart growth and mobility, ecological integrity, social equity, local food systems, and reduction of waste, carbon emissions, and pollution. Visit Sustainable Blacksburg to find out more.

"Unleash the Wild on your Backyard"

Local ecologist Dave Tallamy is fed up with invasive species and sterile landscapes, and urges Americans to go native and go natural! Read his fascinating article in the Smithsonian magazine - click here.

Native Virginia Plants

The Gifts of Water and Land

"Unleash the Wild on your Backyard"

Master Naturalist and Luther Memorial congregation member Rebekah Paulson shares her list of Virginia-native plants. Click here to download the list. She also offers tours of her yard’s Monarch butterfly habitat - please call the church office if you are interested!

The Gifts of Water and Land

There are many ways to become a "Creation Care Congregation." We can start at home as well - here are some ideas...

Replace all incandescent bulbs
Recycle as much as possible
Reduce paper use
Purchase green cleaning products
Make Earth-friendly food choices
Eliminate the use of Styrofoam
Develop Earth-friendly lawn care

Info on being a Creation Care Congregation

Caring for God's Creation

Stewarding the Gift of Water

Web of Creation

The Gifts of Water and Land

The Web of Creation was established to foster the movement

for personal and social transformation to a just and sustainable

world from religious perspectives. This site can:

connect you with ideas, resources and strategies for doing eco-justice
inform, inspire, encourage, educate you about eco-justice
support you in your efforts to live, work and pray in ways that promote eco-justice

The Web of Creation has also been developed to provide information and connections for theology students interested in environmental ministry.

LWR Coffee Project

Lutheran World Relief Farmers Market Coffee

Equal Exchange and Lutheran World Relief (LWR) are strongly committed to furthering Fair Trade and environmental justice together with Lutheran congregations across the U.S. As a participant in the LWR Coffee Project, you make a positive impact on the planet and on the people who grow

our food. For every bag of rich, delicious LWR Farmers Market Coffee

you buy, a farmer receives a strong, up-front price for their coffee beans and shares in the profit of the final sale.

Equal Exchange

LWR Coffee Project

Equal Exchange's mission is to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate, through our success, the contribution of worker co-operatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world.

Recycling

LWR Coffee Project

Recycling

Watch this video to learn about the current items that may be recycled locally. For example, did you know only plastic bottles with a 1 or 2 in the triangle recycling symbol can be recycled? All others 3-7 must go in the trash. Visit BlacksBurg, VA Public Works Recycling Information page to find out about schedules and locations.