Tending Our Soil
In 2021, St. Dunstan’s applied for and was blessed to be selected as one of the first class of 12 parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington to participate in the Tending Our Soil thriving congregations initiative, which has been funded by a Lilly grant.
Over the course of three years and accompanied by trained coaches, congregational leaders are guided by five key practices of
- listening to God, each other, and our neighbors.
- reconnecting with core spiritual practices, theological commitments, and Episcopal identity
- discerning what God is up to and our call to join God on mission
- cultivating new and refreshed ministries and equipping leaders
- celebrating new learnings and successes
Through the process, St. Dunstan's is building our capacity for adaptive leadership through action and reflection for lasting impact. We welcome your questions and participation in this exciting growth opportunity for St. Dunstan’s!
The St. Dunstan's Tending Our Soil Leadership Team
Julie Anderson
Walter Douglas
Karen Edwards, Team Leader
Nils Overdahl
Pat Waldo
Rainscapes, Pollinators and Wild Flowers
On October 2023, St. Dunstan's observed Creation Sunday with a forum by Ann English, RainScapes Manager for the MoCo Department of Environmental Protection. Ann offered helpful guidance for managing stormwater and promoting native plants and pollinators both at church and at home. If you missed Ann's talk, you can download the slides by clicking on the button to the right.
Special thanks to Deacon Mary for organizing this forum!
Ann English, PLA, ASLA, LEED® AP BD+C is the RainScapes Manager for the Montgomery County, MD Department of Environmental Protection. Ms. English is both a designer and teacher who has worked in the private, non-profit, and governmental sectors. She is passionate about plants, and how to design and evaluate plant performance in the environments in which they are planted. Under her direction, the RainScapes program has grown to provide a wealth of information to both the lay and professional public. Her degrees are in American History, Regional Planning, and Landscape Architecture.
