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Old-Growth Forest Network Welcomes Virginia Parish

Stacey Remick knew there was something special about the five-acre forest surrounding St. Peter’s in the Woods Episcopal Church in Fairfax Station, Virginia. She never dreamed that the church property would one day be inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network, the only national network in the United States of protected, old-growth native forests.

An avid hiker and backpacker, Remick had already been a member of the church for several years before she became an inaugural supporter of the Old-Growth Forest Network in 2012. When St. Peter’s in the Woods went through a profound season of re-envisioning 12 years later, the rector, vestry, and entire parish realized the importance of caring for the land entrusted to them.

When it came to applying for recognition with the Old-Growth Forest Network, it felt like a natural next step for the parish. To both parties, the Community Forest designation seemed like the best fit: these designated forests act as cherished greenspaces that connect people to nature, right in their neighborhoods. An indispensable part of any community, this subset of the forest network program is closely tied to the fabric of communities and serves as an ambassador to larger, wilder forests.

With a unanimous vote by the vestry at St. Peter’s in the Woods, just as the senior warden signed off on an memorandum of understanding, a community forest was born.

Leaders and members of St. Peter’s gather with community leaders to celebrate the congregation’s induction into the Old-Growth Forest Network.

On September 14, the parish was inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network with a ceremony featuring representatives from different organizations and governmental agencies. The Very Rev. Susan Hartzell, rector, opened with a prayer and a blessing, followed by Remick’s reflection on the church’s sustainability efforts. The ceremony also featured Old-Growth Forest Network representative Brian Kane, Virginia State Senator Stella Pekarsky, Virginia State Delegate Dan Helmer, and Chris Topoleski, executive director of Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, among others.

To the Old-Growth Forest Network, many of the hardwood trees on the church property, which are “between 70 and 100 years of age, with an abundance of fallen woody debris and snags,” offer a place where “people of all generations can experience biodiversity and the beauty of nature.” A meditation trail offers visitors the opportunity to discover the magic of the natural world. And as part of a Resource Protection Area that preserves the Occuquan River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds, the parish works to conserve the historic, cultural, and working lands of the local environment.

But to many in the St. Peter’s in the Woods community, the event was merely a representation of their commitment to an even bigger mission of fostering a sense of sanctuary, peace, and welcome for anyone who steps onto the holy grounds.

St. Peter’s cross on the hill reflects the church’s presence.

As word about the designation spread, excitement within the congregation grew.

“Our church is now so excited about our forest,” Remick said. “We’re constantly asking what this means spirituality and environmentally. Becoming a part of the network has been a real center point for people when it comes to understanding what it means to care for the Earth.”

To the parishioners, the Creation Care Ministry has been a longstanding part of their spiritual identity. A ministry formed to honor and care for God’s good creation, acknowledge the interdependence of all life on Earth, and encourage environmental sustainability through education, advocacy, and action, this work is enmeshed within the life of the church. St. Peter’s in the Woods eventually became a member of Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions and host of a local chapter of the Center for Spirituality in Nature. The group cares for four native gardens and a Giving Garden, a food bank garden shared in conjunction with a local Methodist church. They practice bird conservation and beekeeping, and plant native tree seedlings on the five-acre expanse; indoors, they use energy-saving alternatives and promote the use of Earth-friendly reusables.

As the ministry has grown, the church has naturally connected with like-minded organizations and churches. Through Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, St. Peter’s in the Woods became certified as a Native Plant and Wildlife Sanctuary by Plant NOVA Natives and the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance.

Over time, the parish also become an example for other people of faith who want to develop solutions to the climate crisis. Alongside a network of Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, Quaker, Unitarian-Universalist, and other faith traditions, they ask one another, “What does it mean to be a Creation Care church? How do we demonstrate stewardship for the Earth?”

Beyond the parish’s many affiliations, creation care is mostly demonstrated by the mature, community-based outreach forest that envelops the property. Just as oak, American beech trees, and tulip poplars dot the land, the forest has become a place where God’s presence is alive.

This comes as no surprise, seeing as it’s also the first thing visitors notice when they drive up the hill and enter the quiet, outdoor sanctuary.

“The church is a literal barrier between the stress, the noise, and the blindness between what people have in their ordinary lives,” Remick said. Visitors often feel like they’re in an entirely different kind of environment when they step onto the grounds, which are similar to the National Shrine Grotto, a Catholic sanctuary space in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Visitors and church members alike often meander through the property. Some people spend time in meditation and quiet before a crucifix made of fallen trees, while others participate in natura divina, a way of using the natural world as a sacred text. The woods are now home to Trailer Treat every Halloween. That night, church members dress in full costume and hand out candy to local neighborhood children from the comforts of the five-acre forest.

But mostly, the Sanctuary Forest, as Stacey Remick and other church members have now taken to calling it, represents deep kinship with all of creation.

With one another and with the world around them, St. Peter’s in the Woods has become a place of calm, love, care, and reverence for both the Earth and for God.

Cara Meredith, a freelance writer and postulant for holy orders in the Diocese of California, lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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