Proposed Statement on
Environmental Sustainability
Draft, March 2, 2008
VISION
Plymouth Congregational Church believes that we are called to
serve as stewards of the earth, to protect and nurture the
environment and to engage in sustainable practices that meet the
needs of the present without compromising the lives of future
generations. We envision a world in which all people share fairly
in the earth’s bounty and make reverence, gratitude and care for
the living earth central to their lives.
PRINCIPLES
In response to this call, we adopt the following environmental
sustainability principles to guide our decisions and our actions
as a congregation.
Facilities and Operations
– To promote sustainable environmental practices throughout our
church’s operations, we will:
1. Maintain the church grounds and buildings in an environmentally
sensitive way.
2. Make efficient and environmentally responsible use of water,
paper and other resources.
3. Reduce our reliance on fossil fuels via conservation, energy
efficiency and renewable energy.
4. Develop a responsible food strategy for our operations.
5. Minimize waste and practice reuse and recycling where
appropriate.
6. Practice environmentally responsible procurement of goods and
services.
7. Apply green building practices to all new development and
construction.
Plymouth Community
– To encourage our members to develop sustainable lifestyles, we
will:
8. Apply the principles listed above at home and at work.
9. Promote responsible use of motorized vehicles and encourage our
members to utilize alternative modes of transportation.
10. Provide educational opportunities and support to help our
members and youth understand their impact on the environment and
to develop “greener” lifestyles.
11. Incorporate environmental themes and activities in our worship
services.
Outreach and Advocacy
– To promote environmental sustainability in the wider community,
we will:
12. Collaborate with our neighborhood and community organizations
on local environmental issues.
13. Facilitate multi-congregational environmental efforts.
14. Work to achieve environmental justice.
15. Practice non-partisan environmental advocacy.
16. Serve as a model of environmental sustainability.
JIM KOLL: Outreach Volunteer of the Quarter
Jim Koll has worked as a Plymouth volunteer building and renovating homes for Habitat for Humanity since 1993. He agreed to be interviewed as our volunteer of the quarter. I met him at a Dunn Brothers coffee prepared with a long list of questions. Anyone who has worked with Jim on Habitat builds could have told me I would not need the questions. Jim started talking about his experiences with Habitat, and an hour later I had almost three pages of input for this article.
Jim was one of the first volunteers that Alice Tuseth and Olive Jean Bailey recruited when they started the Plymouth Habitat for Humanity Committee in 1993. Both of them had been volunteering for Habitat builds for several years prior to the work at Plymouth. In those days Habitat ran two work shifts at each of their build sites, so Jim could work the late afternoon shift by taking a couple of hours of comp or vacation time from his job as an engineer for the City of Minneapolis every day. By his second year as a volunteer, he had become one of Plymouth’s work-site coordinators, a role he has performed ever since. In 1999 he and even other Plymouth volunteers spent a Jimmy Carter Habitat Build Week in the Philippines.
In those days Habitat built new pre-framed, 1200 square foot homes for small families and rehabilitated existing homes to accommodate larger families. The increased costs of land and land preparation have driven Twin Cities Habitat to construction of multiple family units, and volunteers now build custom frames for each home in Habitat’s own warehouse in Northeast Minneapolis. Jim said he enjoyed working on the rehabilitated homes the most because they required the most creativity and flexibility, adapting the building plan to "surprises" encountered on the job. He also believes they provided great experience that people could apply to repair and improvement projects on their own homes, though he quickly added that there are plenty of learning opportunities working on the homes Habitat builds now.
Jim said he enjoys teaching volunteers the many tricks of the trade that he has learned since he began working as a builder when he was a college student, "back in the late ‘40’s." One of his early educational activities was to conduct training sessions for new volunteers in what is now One Groveland. He built a mobile wall that he could use to teach skills like sheetrock installation, taping and mudding. It has been several years since he has used his wall. Maybe it’s time to revive it for our new generation of Habitat volunteers.
Late in the hour I did manage to ask Jim if he had a greatest wish for Habitat at Plymouth. He said he hoped for continued renewal of the pool of regular volunteers. He pointed with pride to the thirty-five homes that Plymouth volunteers have worked on, to the families who have benefited, and to the outstanding reputation Plymouth has developed as a supporter of Habitat (Plymouth and the Basilica are the only members of the Congregations Building Community consortium that staffs two build weeks) and said he hopes we will continue the tradition that he, Alice, Olive Jean, and others began fifteen years ago.
You can join Jim and the other Habitat volunteers by asking Connie Marty to add your name to our list of volunteers who receive notice of our build days. This September 8 to 12 we will work on a new home in Southeast Minneapolis.
--Tom Haigh
WORLD OF WHITTIER - A FAMILY FAIR
Last year approximately 400 people attended the fair. Fairgoers had access to 32 local organizations, and 50 volunteers helped. Donations came from 25 local organizations, and representatives from 11 organizations participated in the planning. Also there were 14 activities and games, from art projects to a cake walk.
Outreach Minister’s Message…
OUTREACH MEANS BOTH INVITING IN AND REACHING OUT
Yesterday, while mingling among the group of volunteers helping to prepare for our Third Sunday Meal guests, I was struck by the fact that Outreach at Plymouth Congregational Church has two distinctly different, but connected faces. On the one hand, through the ministries of Outreach we hope to reach out to the community through advocacy work, the neighborhood foundation, various levels of community involvement, Habitat for Humanityy, etc. The flipside of the coin of Outreach is that in reaching out we are also inviting in. We go not only where the folks are that we’re trying to serve, meeting them where they are along the arduous journey of life; we are also inviting people into our space, to an important stop on our own journeys.
A certain measure of reciprocity comes into view when we consider this important second face of Outreach. Not only do we go out, we also invite in. As we consider the various ways we serve, let us excitedly remember that this work of Outreach is one that allows us to meet people where they are and offer a helping hand, a warm meal, a heart-felt word on their behalf, even a roof over their heads, but it is also work that invites people to meet us where we are, to enter into this space, to enter in to our lives and the life of our community. It is this happy exchange that is the true blessing of Outreach and yields a mutual transformation. Let’s think creatively about how we can continue to facilitate this flipside. How can we better welcome people in? They come at our invitation, but what happens once they’re here is largely up to us. -Brandon Perrine
Outreach Volunteer Opportunities
FOOD SHELF GAINS LARGE CONTRIBUTION
The Groveland Food Shelf received 12,000 pounds of food Sunday, March 11, because Southwest High School Honor Society did a food drive and a brought it all to Plymouth! Do you know how many grocery bags that is? There is barely a walking path in the food shelf. We are putting out a request for volunteers to sort the hundreds of items in the bags and stock the shelves. Do you like seeing results? This is one opportunity where you will be able to have fun, find all the corn or green beans cans or cereal boxes, and organize the shelves.
-Connie Marty
JOINT RELIGIOUS LEGISLATIVE COALITION
Joint Religious Legislative Coalition Day on the Hill (JRLC) was
held March 13th with the theme of poverty ("No Poor Among You")
and ("Ending Poverty Is All About Us"). This was an inspiring
event--with practical social justice training in the morning at
River Centre in St. Paul and activities at the State Capitol,
including meetings with lawmakers in the afternoon.
Participants learned about legislative issues and goals related
to affordable housing, health care, employment, and education.
We see this as a faith community voice that helps shape the
future of Minnesota. -Connie MartyOUTREACH BOARD
SERVES RECORD 354 GUESTS
FOR THIRD SUNDAY DECEMBER MEAL
On December 16, 2007, members of the Outreach Board and other Third Sunday volunteers prepared to serve dinner to an anticipated 250 guests. We ended up feeding 354 guests that night. That was a record number of neighborhood people who came through our door.
Karen Canon, former Outreach Board chairperson, was there with the gift of music playing Christmas carols on the piano. "Christmas tree" favors were made by Paula Northwood and a few volunteers from the Christmas Festival earlier in the day. These were given to the guests as another special dessert.
The Outreach Board had purchased 270 - $10.00 gift cards for Target and MTC bus passes to give out during the meal that night. When we opened our doors at 5 p.m., a steady group of people from the neighborhood lined up to be fed a hot meal. Robert, the security guard, and his wife gave out all the gift cards.
Our guests still lined the hall outside the dining room at 6 p.m., our usual end of the meal. A number of guests complained about having to wait so long outdoors on a very cold winter night. We also had enough bread (donated from Breadsmith) left over to donate to the Groveland Food Shelf. We continued to feed the people that were waiting – Mike the chef, and his staff, kept cooking, and even when he ran out of food for the dinner, kept finding food to serve our guests. It reminded us of Loaves & Fishes! The food just kept coming.
Plymouth is one of four downtown churches that serves a meal to the neighbors once a month. Plymouth’s Sunday is the third Sunday of the month.
The committee ended up leaving an entire hour after we normally do. Thanks to our wonderful volunteers, we had a successful Christmas dinner with our Plymouth neighbors and were able to share a little Christmas cheer with them and each other. -Kari Hellie