God and Greenways: Along the Farmington River Trail
An Inconvenient Truth, was shown after church one Sunday in March , 2007. A post-service Sunday morning walk along a local greenway bordering the Farmington River was scheduled. Participants walked about a mile along the scenic river in the spring sunshine and enjoyed the exercise (on a handicapped-accessible trail). Walkers viewed, as well, evidence of green house gases at work, disease vectors with invasive insects, flood damage, storm surges and wind sheers. In between, scripture such as Psalm 147, Job 28 and Psalm 65 inspired participants with face-to-face recognition of the wonder of God’s creation.
Community Garden
In the beginning, there were pumpkins. This space yielded about 40 pumpkins in summer, 2006.
We had soil tested for contaminants, and the soil was pronounced clean, though perhaps high in calcium/magnesium. Flyers have invited the community to use the space for personal gardens. The church grew zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, beans, flowers and squash in 2007. The produce was used for both a city Thursday noon soup kitchen and our own congregation’s Wednesday community pasta suppers. In 2008 lettuce has been added, and it becomes a contribution to the Wednesday night pasta supper.
Two regularly-scheduled fall services at First Lutheran Church of the Reformation, New Britain, Conn., which remind parishioners of the joy we behold in the creation are:
- Blessing of the Animals on the Oct. 4th Saints’ Day of St. Francis of Assisi, renewer of the Church and
- a harvest festival
At FLCR, the altar and narthex are piled at the end of September with the bounty of New England’s autumn vegetables and flowers, its apples and pears from local orchards, as well as cornstalks and bales of straw. Recently, vegetables from the church’s community garden have been added to the decorations.
Advent 2007: Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Sale
First Lutheran Church of the Reformation celebrated the coming of the Light of the World during Advent 2007 with the sale of compact fluorescent light bulbs. Varieties of bulbs, including popular LED night lights and 60 and 75 watt "curly bulbs" were procured from TechniArt, Inc. (through the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund) and sold under the slogan, "Got bulbs?" More than $300 worth of merchandise was purchased on two Sundays preceding Christmas.
Recycling
The November 2007 initiative of the City of New Britain, Conn., to implement a "clean cart" trash program was an incentive for the Mission and Service task force of First Lutheran Church of the Reformation, New Britain, to transform the church’s waste stream. Glass, plastics and metals are recycled by the city. A volunteer recycled office paper on a monthly basis and takes the papers to a bin behind City Hall designated for office paper recycling.