During the pilot phase, we gained valuable experience and feedback as we shared the program with a small group of parishes and prepared for a Province One rollout in the fall of 2024. The first step was learning how to recruit diverse congregations using resources such as the Church’s Neighborhood Tool. Our pilot cohort included a number of congregations, some of which were comprised of and/or located in areas of historically marginalized and underrepresented groups facing environmental injustice. We aimed to help all the pilot congregations contextualize their path based on local creation justice priorities across racial, environmental, social, and other intersectional factors.

We developed and documented how to recruit and train volunteer Companions, assigned to each parish as its primary contact and advocate. The launch and conclusion of the pilot built interest across the dioceses in Province One as well as church-wide interest. To that end we compiled an email list of people interested in the Path across the church, and are in dialogue with several other Provinces about how they might use the Path with their congregations. We hope to work with parishes across the Episcopal Church in 2025 and beyond.

During the six months of the official pilot program, we interactively learned how to onboard parishes by helping them assess their incoming status and identify the next steps, supporting them in accountability, and offering resources at designated checkpoints. We encouraged a diverse set of parish and broader community leaders and volunteers to become involved in the Path. We concluded by gathering feedback on the initial experience through exit interviews and surveys.

The results were compiled and used to improve the Path and its implementation toward open enrollment of churches in Province I in the second half of 2024. We will provide full access to our findings and the resources we create along the way to other dioceses, provinces, and the Church as we collaborate toward broader adoption. One of our resources available for use across the Episcopal Church is the Season of Creation Liturgical Guide.