On a cold and cloudy Sunday afternoon, two days before the winter solstice of 2021, I went for a group walk on the Brainerd Levee, the eastern terminus of the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway. Across the elevated, exposed path that runs along the top of the levee, the piercing wind blew like a herald announcing the imminent change of seasons. As our gathering of half a dozen or so strode past homeless encampments on the banks of the creek with our coats fully zipped and eyes squinting against the icy air, Lisa Lemza spoke passionately of her desire to take meaningful, locally focused action in response to the twin global threats of climate change and the collapse of biodiversity.
Lisa, along with Kristina Shaneyfelt, heads the GreenGrace team at Grace Episcopal Church. The group, which organized our wintery walk on the levee, hopes to build a movement of like-minded faith leaders and congregations in Chattanooga to, as their mission states, "love, protect and defend the Earth as God's Holy Creation." Toward this end, GreenGrace has adopted a four-part "menu" of actions that area congregations can choose from as their resources and interests permit: Green Grounds, Green Buildings, Green Neighbors and Green Justice.
Green Grounds focuses on projects that create a "calming sanctuary and respite not just for people, but also birds, pollinators and all possible urban wildlife." Green Buildings seeks to help churches reduce their "energy and carbon footprints in an array of actions, large and small." Green Neighbors represents the group's effort to "act as a resource to neighbors, the city [of Chattanooga] and to other churches on the care of creation." Finally, Green Justice looks at ways to "advocate for environmental justice and equal access to parks and green spaces."
I spoke with Lisa and Kristina recently, a little more than two years after that cold December stroll. They had just received the news that, after a yearslong effort to restore native vegetation to the lot owned by Grace Episcopal Church, the congregation had won the Sacred Grounds award from the environmentally focused ecumenical group Interfaith Power and Light. While they were both clearly pleased by the recognition the award brought to their work with GreenGrace, their drive to care for the Earth remained in full force. They gave no hint of resting on their laurels.
"Pollution is sin," Lisa stated during our conversation, drawing a clear connection between environmental and spiritual concerns. When I pressed her to say more about this connection, she added, in language that might raise the hackles of some Christians, "The created world is the first incarnation." God spoke the world into being and called it good, she explained, and when we damage or destroy any part of it — think blasted mountaintops, massive insect die-offs or our own poisoned Citico Creek — we violate its inherent goodness. The beloved farmer-writer Wendell Berry, also a Christian, underscored Lisa's point about the Earth's sacredness when he wrote that "the [coming] of Christ was made possible by God's love for the world."
Despite receiving divine regard, the Earth has in recent centuries suffered greatly from human ignorance, hubris and greed. This is not an indictment of every person who has lived during this time. But there is no credible way to deny that, as a species, we have taken a catastrophic toll on the Earth's living systems, and we are almost certainly going to experience increasingly painful consequences from this in the coming decades.
Nevertheless, Lisa was quick to point out that "faith communities are in the business of hope." Referencing one of the best known biblical stories — and one that is perhaps most relevant to our times — she and Kristina urged congregations, individuals and even businesses to "build an ark" to "support and carry forward" as many species as possible through the drastic changes that are happening to the climate and to Earth's ecosystems. These modern arks, of course, are not monolithic vessels made from giant timbers but small sanctuaries scattered throughout neighborhoods, cities, towns and rural communities. Their "planks" consist of bird-nesting boxes, abundant and accessible water sources, native trees and shrubs, clean creeks and rivers, and vast, open, protected and connected wild places.
"None of this happens immediately," Kristina said, encouraging people to have patience as they begin working to heal the Earth. After two and a half years, the GreenGrace team, despite its recent award, has accomplished less than they had hoped. With no staff, few volunteers and what Lisa described as a shrinking local media landscape, it is difficult to create the kind of communitywide movement they envision. For those who do wish to join the work or support their efforts, the best way is to email greengrace chattanooga@gmail.com or search GreenGrace Chattanooga on Facebook.
L.B. Blackwell is a high school English teacher who lives in Chattanooga with his wife and two daughters. Email him at themundaneway@gmail.com.
L.B. Blackwell