Embracing Kingdom Hope for a Broken World
Eco Anecdotes
Eco Anecdotes: St Mark Presbyterian Church
Feb 22nd
Eco Anecdotes: a series which shares stories of churches, organizations, and individuals going green.
St Mark Presbyterian Church
At Creation Hope we love hearing about changes that people and churches make to care for God’s creation. But we enjoy it even more when we get a chance to see it firsthand. Last week I had the opportunity to do just that. I got to see all the exciting stuff that they have done over at St Mark Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, California, which is one of the greenest churches in America. Gary Collins, their senior pastor, was kind enough to give me a personal tour of their church facility.
What they have done
A few years ago, St Mark had the opportunity to move their campus and build an entirely new building. They were already a church that made it a priority to care for God’s creation, so it was natural for them to really build a campus that was green. They worked hard and were intentional throughout the process to respect God’s creation. And it shows. Here are a few of the things that they implemented into their campus:
- They have an impressive wildlife preserve area
- They used native plants to reduce water consumption, eliminate pesticides, and protect a diversity of wildlife
- They installed a porous tubing system for irrigation which prevents runoff
- They put in carpet made from recycled materials
- They do not use plastic cups or bottles
- They started a garden (produce goes to a soup kitchen)
- They arranged their building to maximize natural lighting
- They use energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)
- They have a water capture system to remove oil runoff from the church parking lot
- They have waterless urinals installed in several restrooms
- They planted 530 trees throughout the property
- They used sustainable wood such as mahogany from a regenerating tree farm for their pews
For more of the green things that they do take a look at their green facts page.
Who They Are
What I particularly liked about St Mark was that their care for creation goes far beyond a building. In our culture we often like the idea of doing something once and riding that through. It’s easier, right? But St Mark did not stop with their property. For them, creation care is a part of who their are. It’s actually part of their DNA as a church and as individuals. Their care is also represented by the cars that they drive (apparently their parking lot is filled with many a Prius) and the homes they live in (solar panels, green roofs, etc). Moreover they continue to look for ways to improve. They have a group called the Ecophilians (what a mouthful). This group and others keep them on their toes and continue to push them in positive directions. In fact, they have even involved the congregation in an audit of the church. You will also find St Mark helping to clean the local bay or having a worship service dedicated to caring for God’s creation. While this is an attraction for many to come to their church, it is not just a gimmick. These are people that sincerely care.
I really enjoyed visiting this church. The property just had a comfortable feel to it. I mean, when was the last time you were able to visit a church inside the city and feel a connection with God’s creation? I am not surprised to hear that in 2007 Audubon International recognized them as the “greenest church in America.” I know that most of our churches do not have the opportunity to start with an entirely new building like this, but St Mark’s example shows us a little bit about what is possible.
Does this story inspire you? If so, take a moment to think about your context. What can your church learn from this story? What opportunities (small or large) can you take advantage of right now to better care for God’s creation where you are?
Also consider:
Eco Anecdotes: Gardening for the Community
Jan 25th
A series which shares stories of churches, organizations, and individuals going green
Gardening for the Community
Many of us have heard of the concept of community gardening, where people from the community rent a plot in a piece of land that has been set aside for gardening purposes. These gardeners then tend their plots, often for fruits and vegetables. Presbyterian Church of the Covenant (PCC) in Costa Mesa, California has put their own unique spin on the community gardening model. The church decided to take advantage of unused space on their grounds that had previously been occupied by bushes, ground cover, some weeds, and in some places just plain dirt. These spaces surrounded their parking lot and were meant to be decorative and attract people to the church. The church decided that they could make much better use of this space by putting a garden in instead. So, this last fall they ripped out the worthless (supposedly) decorative plants in these areas to pursue this goal. This was not without its challenges of course. Having been neglected and untouched for years and years the dirt was hard and the roots ran deep. Garbage was found in the bushes and under the ground. Countless hours went into removing roots, rocks, trash, bottles, 2x4s, concrete, and more to prep the ground for the new garden.
Come September a crew of 40 church members (PCC only has 200 some people at their worship services every week) got to work. The land had been divided into separate plots which were adopted by these volunteers. They began tilling, planting, and caring for their entirely organic, fruit and vegetable gardens. A large variety of plants were to be found on the church property: various onions, peppers, squash, zucchini, fava beans, all sorts of lettuce, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, cilantro, tomatoes, carrots, corn, and even cactus. A few weeks latter the harvesting began. God blessed this ministry abundantly as can be seen from some of the harvests below.
Perhaps this sounds interesting but you may be asking yourself what is green about this and why is it unique. First: why is it green? The garden is entirely organic. No chemical fertilizers, bug sprays, or weed killers have been used in the process. Also, it is local. None of the food is being transported more than one mile to reach its final destination. That cuts down significantly on the footprint of this produce compared to food that is shipped from other states or countries. Additionally, the composter they set up out of old pallets provides a good place to dispose of produce that is bad or falls off the plant and other organic matter. The coffee grounds from the church are even being added in. It will also provide a great alternative to fertilizer when the compost is ready to go.
So, what is unique? The unique piece of this community garden is that it is a garden for the community. The volunteers are from the church but those who eat the produce are poor members of the community. Presbyterian Church of the Covenant has found a way to merge its efforts to care for God’s creation and its mission to serve its local community. Eco-justice and mission not only co-exist but work together to serve God and the world. The church, which already helps feed some 40 families each month, is now able to provide several of those families with fresh, organic, local produce grown with love. The response has been impressive. Recipients have been amazed that someone could love them so much that they would go through all the effort to care for them in this unique way.
That said, this project has not been without challenges. As noted above, it was difficult to get the project started. There were many hurdles to getting started and clearing the ground. Of course, this challenge goes away with subsequent seasons. There has also been the challenge of ensuring that food is picked when it is ripe (not before but certainly not after) and getting it delivered to the families in a prompt manner. They even had a plastic composting bin stolen from the church property. The unbelievable thing was that there was actually organic matter rotting inside when it was taken! Finally, it is a big demand of volunteers to till, plant, care for, and harvest over this extended period of time. Of course, it is this dedication that truly shows the love of Christ in action.
A fair amount of blood, a lot of sweat, and even a few tears went into this work. It has proved to be both green and part of the church’s mission. What a great for a church to go green!
Have you or your church done something similar? What do you think of this effort? Please comment and share your thoughts with the Creation Hope community.
Do you know the story of a church, organization, or individual going green? Email it to us and we will share it in a future post in our Eco Anecdotes series.
Also consider:
Green Adventures: Baking Bread
Disclaimer: I have been a key part of the conceptualization and implementation of this project.
