A Shared Watershed, A Shared Calling: The Chesapeake Bay Eco-Region
Where Ecology Becomes Community
Last year at General Convention, The Episcopal Church (TEC) approved a resolution to form eco-region networks, drawing dioceses together based on their shared ecology. At a time when the health of the Chesapeake Bay—and the communities that depend on it—faces ongoing strain,this was a strong signal from TEC to recenter our faith back to the land and water from which all life comes, and through which God not only speaks but literally provides all things necessary for life.
Over the past nine months Water and Wilderness Church has represented EDOW in forming and leading the Chesapeake Bay Eco-Region, which includes the dioceses of Delaware, Maryland, Washington, Virginia, and Southern Virginia. The first annual Chesapeake Bay Eco-Region Conference is July 7-9, at Washington College in Chestertown, MD. Staff, clergy, and lay leaders from each diocese will gather to build relationships, learn together, and develop a collaborative plan of action to pray for, preserve, and protect the Chesapeake Bay, the watershed that touches all of our dioceses.
Rooted Locally, Connected Nationally
The national Eco-Region Network is coordinated by Bishop Cathleen Bascom, and partners with Sewanee for theological resources and support. EDOW is a leading partner in the formation of the Chesapeake Bay Eco-Region. Other eco-regions include the Grasslands Network, Province One, and the Appalachian Eco-Region. The Chesapeake Bay Eco-Region leaders have met three times by Zoom in preparation for the conference, which will include presentations from experts on the health of the Bay, an indigenous history of the Bay, working with the Wetland Innovation Lab, and non-profit presentations from the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and Interfaith Partnership for the Chesapeake.
While each Eco-Region will have its own contextualized goals, the work of these networks is grounded in a shared vision:
Eco-Regions are the new, grassroots approach to creation-care and environmental justice that The Episcopal Church is taking, and are partnerships of dioceses and communities based on shared ecosystems, watersheds, or environmental concerns. These partnerships aim to foster community and cultivate a collaborative environment where people, projects, and properties are shared, and nature-based climate solutions that address local and regional needs are implemented. Eco-Region Networks are “nature-food-faith” associations that seek to preserve and restore native plant communities, model transformative agriculture and food systems, preserve water and soil quality, connect people for prayer, share expertise and resources, empower communities to cultivate creation care practices and stand against environmental injustices, and support one another with disaster relief and recovery when needed. (Learn more)
From Vision to Action
Our work will center on liturgical, service, and advocacy responses to the crisis facing the Chesapeake Bay. As the Chesapeake Bay Eco-Region, our aim is not only to build a network but also to provide meaningful impact and on-ramps to engagement for every parishioner in each parish across the region. We are excited about this new cross-diocesan network—and about what it makes possible. In the months ahead, we’ll share ways for individuals and parishes to take part in this shared work of prayer, preservation, and restoration.
The Rev. Pete Nunnally is priest-in-charge at Water and Wilderness Church, a council member of the Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission, and a board member for the Center for Spirituality in Nature.
