Rooted to Rise - Stewardship Kickoff

Sometimes the path to peace and prosperity begins with planting trees.

This Sunday, we lift up the visionary work of Wangari Maathai and the National Council of Women of Kenya, founders of the Green Belt Movement and the Pan African Green Belt Network, and recipients of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. Professor Maathai developed a broad-based, grassroots, woman-centered tree planting movement to heal and revive people and planet. The Green Belt Movement’s successfully supported women in planting more than 20 million trees.

As we kick-off our 2026 Stewardship Drive, let us consider the root meaning of “stewardship,” and how we might contribute individually and collectively as stewards of our own community and world. From this place, may we be “Rooted to Rise.”