Creation Care Alliance of Western North Carolina
70 Middle School and High School aged youth & adults from seven local congregations (Grace Covenant Presbyterian, Circle of Mercy, First Congregational, Grace Baptist, First Presbyterian Church, the Cathedral of All Souls, and Land of the Sky UCC) came together Sunday to put their faith into action at several mission sites: Root Cause Farm, 12 Baskets Cafe, Haw Creek Commons, and MountainTrue’s Sandy Bottom Forest Wetland project. Grateful for the partnership with Asheville Youth Mission and Michael Poulos! As part of our time together we learned about justice/mercy, social transformation and reflected in small groups.
Here are some of the reflections of the day.
Where they saw mercy, justice or glimpses of God…
Salamander
Preventing spread of invasive species
Kids working together in harmony
12 Baskets Cafe
In food being donated to 12 Baskets from 2 local restaurants
In the time and work spent in growing plants for others
Helping provide food for others
Glimpses of God in people working
Poppin garlic cloves
Giant sweet potatoes
Some of what the youth are worrying about…
selfishness
lack of leadership
homelessness
hunger
overpopulation
academic pressure
pollution
fair wages
war
water contamination
lack of compassion
polarization
prejudice
cancer
homophobia
suicide rates
climate change–In particular, we also asked them to rank their worry about climate change (1=not worried, 10=very worried) The vast majority of youth ranked their climate worry between 8-10. Our kids are concerned about this even if they don’t have the time, words or space to talk about it, as adults we are called to accompany them.
It was a powerful day of connection, sharing, work, heart-opening and play. We are so grateful to Asheville Youth Mission and all the collaborators moving toward a better world. See more photos below.
