The Green Team (formerly The Environmental Ministry Team) is dedicated to environmental issues within our church, the wider community and the world, acting on ways to be good stewards of the environment through education, recycling and energy efficiency. We invite everyone who has a passion for caring for God’s creation to come and learn about the work we’re doing to make Glen Ellyn a more sustainable, resilient, and compassionate community. These include efforts to focus on renewable energy and to nurture locally grown produce; if you like to garden, you’ll love what we have in store!
The Green Team welcomes Rev. Tracy Heilman, Site Director of Tower Hill Camp and Retreat Center, for a special Earth Sunday worship service and sermon “We are the Soil.” Many of you know Tracy from our annual All Church Retreat. Following worship in Pilgrim Hall, she will be sharing about Tower Hill’s conservation easement, involvement with the Great Lake Collaborative with the United Church of Canada, and the brand-new intergenerational Creation Care Camp at Tower Hill as further ways that our UCC Camps are caring for Creation and invite us to join them with gratitude, hope, and joy!
We were thrilled to see such a fantastic turnout for our recent Landscaping with Native Plants session! It was inspiring to see so many members of our community eager to learn how we can better care for our local ecosystem right from our own backyards.
A special thank you to our host, Judy Grimes from St. John UCC in Arlington Heights, for sharing her expertise and passion for native gardening. For those who were unable to attend or for participants looking to dive deeper into the materials discussed, we are pleased to provide the following resources to help you get started on your own native plant journey.
Judy has graciously shared the full visual guide from the workshop. This presentation is packed with information on why native plants matter and how to select the right species for your specific yard conditions.
The learning doesn’t stop here! We are currently planning a field trip to Judy’s personal gardens and the native plant gardens at St. John’s in late June or early July. This will be a wonderful opportunity to see a mature native landscape in full bloom and ask follow-up questions. Stay tuned for official dates and registration details.
Happy planting, and thank you for helping us make Glen Ellyn a more vibrant, bird-and-bee-friendly community!
The Green Team is thrilled by the interest in composting that some folks have shown by dropping off their compostable items in and at the compost bins located behind the dumpsters in the church parking lot. When done properly, composting enriches soil, reduces landfill waste, and mitigates climate change. However, due to space and volunteer limitations, these compost bins at the church are available for church-generated composting only. If you would like to continue to compost your yard and food waste, we encourage you to visit your local municipality online for information (see below-click each section for the different cities/villages). Thank you for caring for Creation!
Our harvest is ending for this growing season; however, if you would like to continue to support our neighbors in need, by sharing your from your abundance or If you or someone you know is in need of resources to receive food, please follow this link to the resources in our community.
The Green Team supports a project to plant at least 30 raised bed gardens across DuPage County in the Spring, primarily on the property of FCCGE church members. The produce will be directed to local food pantries and individuals in need. We believe this will accomplish several important sustainability goals:
Contact: Nancy Bell or Tom Rausch.
We had cold weather but a good time hiking at Danada Woods in March. Join the Green Team at 1:00 for our next hike at Hidden Lake on Cantata Sunday, April 26th. The entrance is on Rt. 53, just south of Butterfield Road, and across the street from the Glen Ellyn Walmart. We’ll meet in the South parking area just off the Rt. 53 entrance, and we can celebrate the Cantata while we walk.
FCCGE is an open and affirming community who rejoices in God’s work
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