by Young Lee Hertig
Recently, while preparing for a sermon on the topic of stewardship and sustainability, I found an oasis that lifted me from the doom and gloom of the disaster economy, exemplified by the slogan "drill, baby, drill."
Georgetown Gospel Chapel is a small Full Gospel church in Seattle, located in a run down urban setting that models stewardship to the economically challenged industrial neighborhood. Situated adjacent to an active Superfund site that contains several toxic "brownfields" and a Boeing field that drum ears with noise pollution, Georgetown Gospel Chapel sits as an oasis for her members, neighbors, and for other creatures.
20 years ago, Pastor Leroy Hedman faced a decision of whether to spend $2,000 to repair the church's lawn sprinkler system. Considering the financial hardship of the congregation, the church decided to tear out the sprinkle system altogether and transform their lawn into a sustainable garden!
"The garden's beautiful produce is free for the taking," shared Pastor Hedman, "and helps to supplement the diet of neighbors who often must decide between paying rent, paying for utilities, and buying food."
Transforming the pesticide-enhanced lawn into a fruitful garden entailed a series of sustainable makeover of the church property. Some example of how the church went "green" in pursuit of a faithful stewardship for a sustainable community:
1. Installation of a rainwater reclamation system both helps to water the garden and prevents storm water from running directly into salmon-bearing Duwamish River with chemicals from neighboring lawns and industries.
2. Among the many ministries provided by the Chapel, Pastor Hedman offers his skills to the community as a certified master gardener and a composter. Also the church hosts a recreation/tutoring/mentoring program for children and youth, one that -- in addition to being pure fun! -- also introduces dozens of young people to basic Earth-care principles and activities.
3. The Chapel has "adopted" their street for litter-free maintenance and distributes tree seedlings to residents.
4. Every light in the church contains an energy efficient compact florescent light bulb that reduces the amount of energy consumption by 75%. In 1999, the Chapel became the first congregation to receive an EPA Energy Star Award.
5. Chapel members and neighbors have many opportunities to learn more about caring for creation through adult study times, an after-school program for neighborhood children, sermons, and the Chapel's basement library.
6. The Chapel also serves as the repository for publicly accessible documents related to the cleanup of a neighboring Superfund site and a brownfield. This accessibility allows neighbors to learn about the cleanup processes and empowers them to work with government agencies and local businesses to help carry out the processes.
The Chapel's decision to abandon the consumption required to maintain a mainly cosmetic lawn in favor of stewardship for the benefit of the greater community has produced countless dividends. As a result of sustainable living, the church's savings each year are estimated at approximately $3,000 to $5,000, not to mention the prevention of 60,000 pounds of CO2 from entering into the atmosphere.
Rather than treating greed as if it were an entitlement, and thus making it easy for corporate greed to victimize us, one small church's example demonstrates how the people of God can choose liberation from ruthless, addictive consumption in favor of responsible stewardship for God's creation. I appreciate the tangible witness of the George Town Gospel church for their sustainable stewardship, something that we can all apply at this late hour.
Recently, while preparing for a sermon on the topic of stewardship and sustainability, I found an oasis that lifted me from the doom and gloom of the disaster economy, exemplified by the slogan "drill, baby, drill."
Georgetown Gospel Chapel is a small Full Gospel church in Seattle, located in a run down urban setting that models stewardship to the economically challenged industrial neighborhood. Situated adjacent to an active Superfund site that contains several toxic "brownfields" and a Boeing field that drum ears with noise pollution, Georgetown Gospel Chapel sits as an oasis for her members, neighbors, and for other creatures.
20 years ago, Pastor Leroy Hedman faced a decision of whether to spend $2,000 to repair the church's lawn sprinkler system. Considering the financial hardship of the congregation, the church decided to tear out the sprinkle system altogether and transform their lawn into a sustainable garden!
"The garden's beautiful produce is free for the taking," shared Pastor Hedman, "and helps to supplement the diet of neighbors who often must decide between paying rent, paying for utilities, and buying food."
Transforming the pesticide-enhanced lawn into a fruitful garden entailed a series of sustainable makeover of the church property. Some example of how the church went "green" in pursuit of a faithful stewardship for a sustainable community:
1. Installation of a rainwater reclamation system both helps to water the garden and prevents storm water from running directly into salmon-bearing Duwamish River with chemicals from neighboring lawns and industries.
2. Among the many ministries provided by the Chapel, Pastor Hedman offers his skills to the community as a certified master gardener and a composter. Also the church hosts a recreation/tutoring/mentoring program for children and youth, one that -- in addition to being pure fun! -- also introduces dozens of young people to basic Earth-care principles and activities.
3. The Chapel has "adopted" their street for litter-free maintenance and distributes tree seedlings to residents.
4. Every light in the church contains an energy efficient compact florescent light bulb that reduces the amount of energy consumption by 75%. In 1999, the Chapel became the first congregation to receive an EPA Energy Star Award.
5. Chapel members and neighbors have many opportunities to learn more about caring for creation through adult study times, an after-school program for neighborhood children, sermons, and the Chapel's basement library.
6. The Chapel also serves as the repository for publicly accessible documents related to the cleanup of a neighboring Superfund site and a brownfield. This accessibility allows neighbors to learn about the cleanup processes and empowers them to work with government agencies and local businesses to help carry out the processes.
The Chapel's decision to abandon the consumption required to maintain a mainly cosmetic lawn in favor of stewardship for the benefit of the greater community has produced countless dividends. As a result of sustainable living, the church's savings each year are estimated at approximately $3,000 to $5,000, not to mention the prevention of 60,000 pounds of CO2 from entering into the atmosphere.
Rather than treating greed as if it were an entitlement, and thus making it easy for corporate greed to victimize us, one small church's example demonstrates how the people of God can choose liberation from ruthless, addictive consumption in favor of responsible stewardship for God's creation. I appreciate the tangible witness of the George Town Gospel church for their sustainable stewardship, something that we can all apply at this late hour.
Young Lee Hertig, PhD, is an ordained pastor and serves as a professor at seminaries and Christian colleges. She lives with her husband and daughter in Southern California. To contact Young, please send your inquiry to AAWOLblog@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment