United Methodist Church of Geneva celebrates Earth Sunday with expo

The United Methodist Church of Geneva celebrated Earth Day with an Earth Day themed service, Sunday school, and an expo following worship.

The theme of Earth Day this year is “Planet vs. Plastics” and the Creation Care team highlighted accomplishments that the church has made as well as provided information and products to help people take next steps for plastic reduction.

The team gave away reusable shopping bags, reusable produce bags, paper and metal straws and flowers to plant. A freewill offering also was taken at the event to help provide materials to establish two more garden plots at Hesed House, a homeless shelter in Aurora.

Creation Care members Debbie Karr and Val Erickson created curriculum for Sunday school that included watching the short film “Straws” about the pollution created and the danger to wildlife of straws. Each child was given a reusable straw to take home.

According to Val, “We took the kids on an Earth Day scavenger hunt and explored a few of the ways UMCG cares for our earth through composting, recycling, and installing a water bottle refilling station. Then we planted marigolds in small pots to plant at home and to share.”

The Creation Care team was formed in 2016 by a group of concerned members who regularly volunteered for Third Tuesday Community Suppers, which served over 500 people each month. They focused on reducing the amount of single-use plastic and polystyrene cups used to serve guests.

In 2021, the church council passed a policy proposed by the Creation Care team to use reusable dinnerware at all church events.

“A highlight of the past year was serving 550 people at our Memorial Pancake Breakfast using our reusable dinnerware and we are ready to do it again this year,” reported Debbie Karr.

Additional display tables included an eco-scavenger hunt, the new landscape plan for the church that utilizes native plants, information about recycling plastic and items the church takes for recycling, and the success of our policies to reduce single-use products.

“Americans use an average of 365 plastic bags per person per year. We estimate that means our congregation may consume over 40,000 bags each year!,” reported Sharon Reed.

Robbin Lang discussed the impacts of microplastic pollution in our waterways. She pointed out that plastics break down into microplastics that can be found in our food and our bodies.

“The majority of plastic bags, sacks and wraps that are produced in the U.S. are never recycled and end up in landfills, waterways, and oceans. We are challenging everyone to make a choice to reduce their plastic consumption,” Debbie Karr added.

UMC of Geneva recently installed a geothermal HVAC system that destroyed the landscaping on the church's west side.

Members decided to take advantage of the opportunity to rethink the landscape to make it more sustainable, attract pollinators with native plantings, and create hardscapes that will invite more people to enjoy it.

Fran Manos and Kathy McNeil, one of the trustees, unveiled the latest landscaping plan and provided information about native plants and other elements of the plan. One person observed “The native plants are prettier than I thought they’d be.”

Senior Pastor Rob Hamilton remarked, “Sometimes we think of caring for the environment as its own good thing. For Christians, caring for the planet is part of our holistic understanding of stewardship. Everything we have is a gift from God to be used with dignity and care. This extends to people, planet, relationships, our time, our calendar, our money, everything. In this way the old Wesleyan maxim applies to care for creation as it does everything else.

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”