St. Mark’s - A Church of Many Colors

Blue has been a color associated with St. Mark’s as they became the first Blue Zones faith-based organization on Marco this year. Now they are adding green to their palette as their Creation Care Ministry passionately works towards sustainability and caring for God’s creation we call earth. The group has composed the Caring for Our Earth series of interesting and informative environmental presentations during the coming months and welcomes the Marco and Naples communities to attend and join their mission.

Rev. Kathy Schillreff, St. Mark’s Assisting Priest, reminds us that the opening chapter of Genesis is a story of Creation.  “God creates everything that is: sun, moon, stars, earth, waters and all the living things that inhabit earth, water, and air.  Last of all God creates humankind.  God gives them creation and makes them the stewards - caregivers - of it. Sadly, humanity has not done such a good job at taking care of Creation,” says Schillreff.   She promotes the Creation Care Ministry as the group’s effort to reclaim their role as stewards and caregivers of creation.  They are doing that in several ways - by caring for our campus in the most environmentally sustainable ways possible, by hosting events for the whole community on topics that will help us all to be better stewards and by recognizing and partnering with other groups in our community doing this same work of caring for creation.

“Water Management in Southwest Florida” is the first program of the series and will be presented on Monday, November 14th at 7:00 PM at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church located at 1101 N. Collier Blvd on Marco Island.  Charlette Roman, Governing Board Member of the South Florida Water Management District, will speak on the work of the District, including Everglades Restoration. The Water Management District was established in 1961 as a flood protection agency. Since then, its responsibilities have grown to include managing the water supply, protecting water quality and preserving natural systems that serve important water-related functions. Ms. Roman is also a former Marco Island City Council Member and a Master Naturalist.  

Additional presentations will be held in February and March of 2023 about focusing on Recycle and Waste Disposal in Collier County and Gopher Tortoises and Burrowing Owls.  All presentations will include a question-and-answer session. For more information, please contact Gwen Goodman at gsgoodman11@comcast.net.