Tenders of the Garden

Activities

Whether you want to take your group outside to explore a natural wilderness area or stay inside on a rainy day, there are a number of activities you can do. Check out our suggested activities to get you started or post your own ideas to share with others!

God's Creation Art Mural

Distribute lots of magazines and newspapers. Invite everyone to take 5 minutes to find images or words that remind them of God's creation. Using large poster board or butcher paper, ask each person to come paste their images/words on the paper and describe briefly why they chose them.

Habitat Lapsit.

Ask the group to stand in a tight circle, everyone shoulder to shoulder. Ask everyone to turn to their right, put their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them, and take two steps into the center (so that people are very close to each other). Very slowly (making sure the group is close enough), ask them to sit down at the same time. If this activity has succeeded, everyone will be sitting on the lap of the person behind, with everyone balanced out and able to stay sitting. Once seated and steady, see if the group can all together step forward with their right foot, then their left foot. Use this activity to think about how we depend on each other in God's Creation.

Make Paper!

Make a screen frame by using a wood picture frame or by gluing wood strips together into a square or rectangle. Stretch a piece of old window screen across the frame and attach the screen to the back of the frame using staples. Take old paper you want to recycle and tear them into little pieces. Use different colored paper to make a variety of recycled stationary. Place the scraps in a blender with some water. The consistency should still be thick-like a stew. Pour the blended paper over the screen. Put a towel on either side of the screen and press the liquid out. Lastly, gently tap the new paper out of the frame and let it dry. When it is dry, you'll have some new stationary!

Electronics recycling.

Work with your local recycling center and city government to designate a day where you could work with them to be a drop-off point for people to bring their old electronics for free recycling. Read about the e-recycling done by Wild Rose Congregational Church of Evergreen, CO.

Stream Clean-Up.

Work in your local creeks, streams, and rivers to collect the trash that the rainwater brought. Click here to read about First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood, MO in their annual stream clean-ups.

Roadside Clean-Up.

Pick a few blocks that you are willing to pick up and go out with trash bags, gloves, and have fun! Sometimes these activities are organized by a neighborhood association. If your group is large enough and you can make a commitment for longer-term, consider the Adopt-a-Highway program.

Tend the Garden

Plant a garden in a small section of the church grounds. It could be a flower garden, a vegetable garden, or a native plants (plants especially adapted to your area) garden. Produce from a vegetable garden could be used for church potluck meals or taken to a food bank. Flowers could be used to decorate the church or for special occasions like Mother's Day. Native plants could be used to talk about how God fits us with particular gifts useful for particular places. Click here to read about Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church of Louisville, KY= and their Gardening Day Camp.

Through spiritual ecology, we strive for social, ecological and economic well-being for all God's Creation: eco-justice. Why?