Going green at God's house

Credit: Tracy Farnham | The News Herald

One area church has been “going green” outside its four walls. The Caring for Creation Committee of nearly 12 members from First Presbyterian Church in Morganton provided the recycling containers at the Morganton Post Office through Simply Green Recycling.

By: Tracy Farnham | Morganton News Herald
Published: February 05, 2010

MORGANTON --

Fellowship meals, chicken pie suppers, barbeque benefits, Sunday services and just a typical day at the church office can leave a pretty big carbon footprint from the Christian community. Area churches are recognizing the effects of recyclable rubbish on the environment and are taking steps to make sure it is properly recycled.
A small but increasing client base from the faith community is turning to Simply Green.
Stephanie Cates owns Simply Green along with her husband, Bryan. They opened the business three years ago. It serves the recycling needs of homeowners and businesses and churches, too, within the Morganton city limits.
"We have had several churches all along, but we are seeing more now," Cates said. "We have churches calling wanting to do recycling. It's not a huge expense, but they have to get it in their budget."
Cates said First United Methodist Church in Morganton recently signed up.
"Associate pastor Todd McCullough said this was a big issue and that they wanted to create a more sustainable environment in the church," Cates said.
First United Methodist Church secretary Margaret Causby said the church used to some recycling with members taking care of it themselves, but they stopped at some point.
Then McCullough suggested it would be a good thing to do, so they contacted Simply Green.
"We are collecting paper from bulletins, newsletters and other paper for them to pick up," Causby said. There are recycling containers in the church office, the fellowship hall and kitchen areas. Simply Green currently picks up the recyclables once every two weeks.
Cates said, "A lot of the time, if the church has a kitchen. they may need a larger container for cans, but most have the curbside containers that are basically used for bulletins or office paper."
Simply Green charges $6 for each container.
A committee at First Presbyterian Church in Morganton took green measures a step further by providing for recycling in the community. The Caring for Creation Committee of First Presbyterian Church was organized nearly three years ago. Committee member Laurie Toman said, "The first thing we started recycling was bulletins after church. It was simple and easy."
From there the committee started looking beyond the church's walls. They spoke to Simply Green about placing bins in the Morganton post office to collect discarded mailings.
Toman said they didn't do this to get noticed. Most passersby would simply think it is a service provided by the post office.
"It doesn't matter who we are. It is all about working together," Toman said.
They started nearly one year ago. Toman said he believes the effort has gotten a good reception.
In fact, said Cates, it's gone so well, "We had to switch to bigger containers."
Several ladies from First Presbyterian Church got together and made cloth bags to hand out on Earth Day, Toman said. Also, the committee placed signs around the church facility reminding folks to turn out lights when rooms are not in use. The thermostat was lowered a bit. The church reduced mailings by one third by sending its newsletter to some members via e-mail. And at Wednesday fellowship meals, they serve meals on glass rather than Styrofoam (Toman said Caring for Creation Committee members help with the cleanup).
Looking ahead to Vacation Bible School, Associate Pastor Adam Bowling ordered materials that support the green movement, Toman noted.
"When you do your part, it isn't the huge steps, but the little steps we take every day that make the difference," she said.
Cates said Simply Green is looking for opportunities to expand outside the city limits. One interested church is near an current customer, so Cates said they may be able to provide a recycling pickup for the church.
"We fluctuate pickup times," she said, "With bigger churches we pick up every week depending on their need and most are typically a Monday pickup."
For more information on Simply Green go to www.simplygreenrecycling.com .

Going green at God's house

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