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Growing Green : One Congregations Story

by the Rev. Lindsay L. Fulmer, pastorFirst Church of Christ in Manseld Center

Sometimes, surprisingly, the cart does come before the horse! So it seems for First Church of Christ in

Manseld, Connecticuts rst Green Church. The cart of conservation education, activities, commitments andpractices lled up rst before we ever considered hitching ourselves to the Green designation. Becominga green church was a direct consequence of grassroots growth, the seeds of which were rst planted at an allchurch planning retreat in the fall of 2003. In typical fashion we had given ourselves a day away together tocelebrate our strengths and share our vision for the future. During a brainstorming session, one of our membersexpressed a desire to see our church evaluate and improve our energy conservation practices. It was like heatinga kettle of popcorn, ideas bounced around all over the place until as we looked at the newsprint page rapidlylling, it was clear there was lots of energy and enthusiasm being generated around her kernel of an idea.

Following that meeting, a Conservation Task Force formed in January of 2004, a small groupof folks highly motivated to explore ways we might be better stewards of creation. First step? Gatheringinformation from a wide variety of resources pamphlets, books, articles, etc. and making these availableby displaying them in fellowship hall. Research was done via the internet and libraries to nd out what otherreligious organizations were doing to be green. There was nothing yet available from the UCC website,but we found the Unitarian Universalist web site had Green Sanctuary guidelines that were rigorous, butprovided a good reference point. This group then proposed environmental stewardship guidelines for thechurch that were adopted by the Executive Council. With the encouragement of the Task force, the Businesscommittee completed an audit of conservation practices the church was already following. In like fashion,members of the congregation were invited to participate in a survey which asked about conservation practicesin their households. Newsletter articles were published that outlined the results, offering positive feedbackfor what we as a church and individuals were already doing. Ideas generated from all these sources gradually

began to be put into practice. In an ongoing effort to keep us informed, Green Tips became a regular featureof weekly worship bulletins and monthly newsletters, providing helpful ideas and strategies for improvingconservation and reducing our carbon footprint.

One of the initial key decisions was to look at the whole issue of care of creation from a holisticstandpoint, asking how environmental concerns impact the way we do things in all areas of church life fromeducation and worship, to business practices and investments, to fellowship time and church maintenance,as well as our personal practices at home and in the workplace. The Task Force met the with the Businesscommittee regarding the churchs socially responsible investing of its funds and changes were made to includeenvironmentally friendly companies in our prole. Members of the congregation were given the opportunityto purchase wind generated electricity, and the church subsequently received credit for its electricity beinggenerated by this alternative eco-friendly source.

Simple cleaning procedures and products for the church were adjusted to promote the use of moreenvironmentally friendly products and practices. We stopped using paper cups and now use ceramic mugsduring fellowship time, only serving fair trade coffee.

A commitment was made to make the environment and care of creation a theme for sermons andworship on a regular basis, especially highlighting Earth Day. A community wide Art Festival, entitled For theBeauty of the Earth was held, featuring art from all ages displayed on the church lawn. A salvaged materialssculpture was created during the festival, featuring natural found objects. We offered a showing of Al GoresAn Inconvenient Truth to the wider community which packed our fellowship hall.

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One of the most exciting outgrowths of our commitment to becoming a green church was advocacyfor environmental issues and working to effect changes in public policy. A representative from CT Clean Waterand a member of our congregation facilitated meetings on Diesel Emission Retrotting of School buses, onewith State Representative Denise Merrill, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Rep Merrill later toldus that it was this small group of concerned citizens that compelled her to nd the funds in the budget to buythe lters necessary to solve the problem.

Along the way, the Conservation Task force looked back at the growing list of things wed done andwere committed to do, and decided to send these to the CT Conference for consideration of designation as aGreen Church. We hadnt set out to become a green church but found the Spirit, aided by the dedicated workof a small group of people, generating generous energy in that direction, until here we were, hitching up ourcart, proud to be a Green Church. Unlike other resolutions to become Open and Afrming, and a Just PeaceChurch, this one had come about by steady growth through education resulting in a blossoming transformationof practices and evolving commitments. Afterbeing designated a Green Church, we formally adopted aGreen Church Mission Statement which reads:

The members of First Church of Christ in Manseld recognize that one of the most signicantchallenges facing humanity is the achievement of a sustainable Earth. As a Green Church, we welcomethis responsibility. Being faith-lled and responsive stewards of Gods creation, we are committed, through

education and action, to the environmental well being of our planet. Imagining a brighter future, we arecommitted to stepping more lightly, leaving a smaller footprint, and living more simply that others maysimply live. The Conservation Task Force has now dissolved, having evolved into a whole congregationcharged with responsibility to live into our shared commitment.

Becoming a Green Church its a growing thing, a continual process of education and new ideastransformed into action. Were still pruning here having recently participated in This Old House ofWorship and a CL&P energy audit, we are continuing to make changes, excited and challenged by thecommitment to keep growing green. One seed, one idea, one small, signicant breakthrough at a time.Once the seeds get planted, its amazing to watch the growth. Its not only a matter of good stewardship andconservation of the environment, but faithful response to an urgent calling. With dangers of global warmingand environmental degradation reaching a tipping point, it would seem God is not only still speaking, butearnestly calling us a people of faith to grow green. Good seeds are all there, and lots of resources available

to nurture the growth. What better time to get started growing green than this season of Lent!

Note: One website we found very helpful is www.webofcreation.org. Youll nd a multitude of informativelinks, and whole catalogue of very do-able ideas and resources there.

God is still speaking,