Join us on Wednesday evenings during Lent for a special Speaker Series on the topics of creation care and environmental justice. We will have guest speakers from around the Commonwealth who specialize in a variety of areas that shed light on the importance and faithful responsibility to do our part in taking care of our planet. We hope you will allow these special opportunities to nurture your soul as we all prepare to “Make Room for New Life” during the season of Lent.
February 25 - Dr. Jacqueline Lapsley, President of Union Presbyterian Seminary, Down to Earth: the Bible, and Environmental Ethics
March 4 - Carlo Uchello, Chair of the Diocese of Virginia's Creation Care Committee, What does Creation Care have to do with me?
March 11 - Miriam Farris, Director of Youth Ministry at Christ Church Episcopal, The Gift of Front Yard Gardening
For any questions, please email Adam Williams, Minister to Families.
Dr. Jacqueline Lapsley
Jacq Lapsley is in her third year as President of Union Presbyterian Seminary, with its campuses in Richmond, VA, and Charlotte, NC. Before coming to Union, she served on the faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary for 25 years. Jacq (pronounced like "Jack") has degrees from two northern schools: Smith College and Princeton Seminary, and two southern schools: UNC-Chapel Hill and Emory University, and claims roots in both regions. She is the author of books and articles on Scripture and ethics, on women in Scripture, the book of Ezekiel, as well as the Bible as a resource for an ethic of creation care. Jacq is married to the Rev. Greg Bezilla, an Episcopal priest; they have two adult children, and a wildly energetic, badly behaved dog. She is a ruling elder in the PCUSA.
Carlo Uchello
Carlo Uchello currently serves as the Chair of the Diocese of Virginia's Creation Care Committee. He previously served as Chair of the Transition Committee that supported the election and ordination of Bishop Mark Stevenson. Carlo lives with his wife in Alexandria, where his home parish is St. Luke's, Wellington. At St. Luke's, Carlo initiated and led the parish's solar panel project, which was completed in 2025, and he also serves as a Lector and Eucharistic Minister.
Miriam Farris
Miriam joined Christ Church Episcopal as the Director of Youth Ministry in October 2025. She grew up around gardens and was a helping hand throughout her childhood and college years on her grandparents’ organic farm. Miriam began gardening in earnest fifteen years ago as a member of a community garden and has since cultivated her own front yard at her home in Church Hill.
