This church uses sermons, the church newsletter, and bulletin board articles to encourage one another in using the “3Rs” (reduce, reuse, recycle) as a way to increase their care for the earth that God has created. In this congregation, not only are the “3Rs” a part of ongoing church communication, they are embodied in individuals’ lives, as acts of discipleship.
Pastor Barry Schmell reports that their recycling successes involve creative and dedicated church members: “Staff uses leftover bulletins as scrap paper. Discarded CDs are used as drink coasters in the office meeting rooms. Trimmings from shrubs and bushes are allowed to decay in a member’s wooded area. Several members collect litter on daily walks. One member makes handbags out of plastic shopping bags. Beautiful quilts are made out of fabric scraps.”
The quilting group often meets at the church; they share with the Bible School craft teachers the fabric source of old sheets from local motels! Each of these small acts makes a difference, especially when their summation equals an overall reduction of waste and less consumptive lifestyle choices.
Recycling station at Maplewood Mennonite Church
In addition to recycling paper, glass, and aluminum, Maplewood Mennonite has become a central exchange for saving items from landfills by putting them as useful objects into others’ hands. For instance, 17 inactive cell phones were collected for refurbishing and reuse, some of them donated to women’s shelters. Used eyeglasses were collected and donated to the Lions Club. While church members could donate these as individuals, doing it as a congregation provides an important witness and service. Thinking of these tangible projects as part of the church’s work, and a part of the Christian call, educates church and community members about creation care faster than would a dozen written reminders about reducing, reusing, recycling.
Finally, items such as fluorescent light bulbs, old Sunday School materials, used motor oil, ink jet cartridges, alkaline batteries, and laser/toner cartridges are also collected at the church and taken to places where they are recycled, reused, or properly discarded. Because of these many efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle, the trash pickup weekly for the church and its onsite preschool is 30 pounds a week, making their annual trash removal less than one ton. Pastor Schmell says, “God has blessed us with an enormous amount and variety of raw materials, and the knowledge of how to use them to benefit our lives. Along with these gifts comes the responsibility to recognize God as the giver, and to humbly care for His creation."
Maplewood Mennonite Church has received the 2002 Excellence in Recycling 3R Award, and the 2003 Honorable Mention Excellence in Recycling 3R Award, presented by the Allen County (IN) Solid Waste District.
Contact: Pastor Barry Schmell at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it