First Church Goes “Green”
News Release, February 9, 2009
First United Methodist Church in Mission Valley is going “green” thanks to members who are compelled to be better stewards of our natural resources.
 First Church member Tom Burk, is an active participant in moving the church toward more environmentally sustainable practices. He is involved in the church’s EarthCare environmental stewardship group, and spearheaded an effort to install 48 solar modules on the roof of the United Methodist Center in December 2008.
Burk eliminated his own electrical bill by adding solar modules to his garage roof and felt his success could be applied to his church community. It is estimated the installation will save the church $213,000 over 30 years.
 "'Going green' is a way to do the basic stuff of Christianity: loving God and neighbor. It is faithful to God's love to live in a way that helps sustain life for future generations, and that protects the health of children around the world," says Rev. Molly Vetter. "This gift of investment in green energy makes sense for cost savings for our congregation; more, it represents investment in sustainable ways of living that mean a better future for all”
 Burk and the EarthCare group meet monthly to pursue ways to empower our community to make environmentally friendly choices. The group has initiated an on-campus recycling program, started work on replacing conventional landscaping with water-saving native plants, and will sell re-usable shopping bags displaying the FUMC logo to help cut back on the number of plastic grocery bags thrown out each year, filling our dumps and clogging our waterways.
In the month of March, a five-week “creation care” class, “Caring for God’s Creation,” was offered, led by Jason and Kristen Tucker of Floresta, a Christian nonprofit organization working to reverse deforestation and poverty in the world. The class incorporated biblical principles around creation care with practical applications and hands-on experience in working to improve our environment.
The class was planned around “four basic relationships that exist regarding God, creation, and humans. The way we view these relationships is essential to how we interact with the world, and we hope that participants came away with a fresh understanding of how connected we truly are with our environment” explains Jason Tucker.
Finally, on Palm Sunday, First Church purchased only palm fronds that are deemed ‘fair trade,’ thus helping the environment and humans. The palms were purchased through UMCOR's Eco-Palms project. |
Get Your Hands Dirty
Volunteer Work at the New Roots Community Farm
On Saturday, May 15, nearly 40 folks from our church joined residents of Mid-City in a work day, helping prepare the ground for the New Roots Community Farm.
The New Roots Community Farm is a project of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which will allow refugees and other low-income residents of Mid-City San Diego to grow their own food, locally. The 2.3 acre farm, located at 54th and Chollas Parkway, is just now ready to begin working the land, so we worked at filling in trenches, laying mulch on the paths between plots, digging rocks out of plots and breaking up the soil.
While this workday is over, there are still opportunities to get involved; volunteers with the IRC will be there each Saturday morning, and welcome any help. (Note: there will not be a work group on June 7, because of the anniversary celebration of the City Heights Farmers Market that morning.) For more information about working any Saturday, contact Amy Lint in the IRC office at 619-641-7510 x244 or amy.lint@theirc.org.
We are also collecting quality used or new garden tools to donate to the Farm. You can take tools to the farm site any Saturday morning, or get them to Rev. Molly's office at the church.
We are currently planning another First Church work day at the Farm for late June--watch for more information.
How to get involved:
• Volunteer for the Work Day at New Roots Community Farm.
• Shop with reusable shopping bags (available now in the church office).
• Get involved with EarthCare (meets the first Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm in Linder Hall Rm #5. Info: luann_wherry@mac.com)
• Look for the recycling bins in Linder Hall and the church office
• Read the EarthCare blog.
• Plant water-saving native plants at home
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