New Year, New Projects
By Mike Merchant, Creation Care Team member
You may have heard of the BCC Creation Care Team and wondered what it’s about. We are one of four newer outreach teams at BCC, along with Christian Formation, Mission Catalyst and Arts Ministry teams. Currently, the Creation Care Leadership team consists of Mike and Heather Merchant, Nancy Lewis, Amy Keiper-Gowan, Mark and Doreen Olson, and Carmen Hixson.
Our mission is not to change the world. Our focus is on you, our local church community. Our mission is simple. We are here “to equip and inspire the community of BCC to live out God’s calling to love and care for creation.”
Projects for 2026
So how do we fulfill this mission? We start by putting our faith into action. If you’re on our mailing list and have read this far, you’re already part of the BCC creation care community. And we need you, our community, to pitch in.
Last month the Creation Care Leadership Team got together and looked at project ideas generated during the “It’s Not Easy Being Green” Life Together Class from last Fall. Three projects identified by the class as both worthwhile and attainable resonated with us:
Provide new recycling receptacles for church lobby and activities. Nothing says commitment to the environment more than making recycling part of our daily habits. Though we currently have trash and recycling bins, they are not very well marked or distributed. And as a church we haven’t done a great job promoting and explaining the recycling process. If this sounds like your jam, contact me, Mike Merchant (mike.merchant@yahoo.com) to join this project.
Install church bike racks to provide a safe, secure place for cyclists to park. Besides designating safe places for bikes, the racks tell visitors and congregants that BCC cares about greener, climate-friendly ways to get to church. If you’re excited about helping with green transportation options, Mark Olson (markolson48@gmail.com) would love to hear from you.
Bring your mug to church and make coffee time more sustainable. Our weekly coffee time is great for fellowship, but it also generates a lot of waste. Help us create a way to encourage people to either use reusable mugs or bring their own. We’re not yet sure what this will look like (mug cubbies?), but we believe you can help figure it out. If you’re a coffee or tea drinker on Sunday mornings and want to help, the contact person for this project is Carmen Hixson (carmenhixson@gmail.com).
Over the next few weeks, we hope to form our three project teams and get started on these projects. We hope you’ll join us and help us make BCC a greener place in 2026.