Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography

by Young Lee Hertig

Recently, while preparing for a sermon on the topic of stewardship and sustainability, I found an oasis that lifted me from the doom and gloom of the current disaster of our economy, exemplified by the slogan “Drill, baby, drill.”

Georgetown Gospel Chapel is a small Full Gospel church in Seattle, located in a run-down urban setting that models stewardship to the economically-challenged industrial neighborhood.  Twenty years ago, in consideration of the financial hardships of the members in his congregation, Pastor Leroy Hedman decided to use the $2,000 needed to repair the church’s lawn sprinkler system towards the transformation of their lawn into a sustainable garden instead.  This became only one of a series of initiatives toward a sustainable makeover of the church’s property.

Rather than treating greed as if it were an entitlement, and thus making it easy for corporate greed to victimize us, one small church’s example demonstrates how the people of God can choose liberation from ruthless, addictive consumption in favor of responsible stewardship for God’s creation. I appreciate the tangible witness of the Georgetown Gospel Chapel for their sustainable stewardship, something that we can all apply at this late hour.