Eco-Ministry – Lake Harriet UMC, Minneapolis
Lake Harriet UMC has been adopting practices that are informed by The Book of Discipline. It’s clear about our
stewardship responsibilities with regards to the Natural World as outlined in section I. The Natural World in the
Social Principles:
160. I. THE NATURAL WORLD
All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals,
energy resources, plants, animal life, and space are to be valued and con- served because they are God’s creation and
not solely because they are useful to human beings. God has granted us stewardship of creation. We should meet
these stewardship duties through acts of loving care and respect, [....] let us recognize the responsibility of the church
and its members to place a high priority on changes in economic, political, social, and technological lifestyles to
support a more ecologically equitable and sustainable world leading to a higher quality of life for all of God’s creation.
Lake Harriet’s first steps start by holding these principles in mind as individuals and as a congregation. We don’t
currently have a “green team” per se; rather these principles inform actions made by a variety of our ministry
teams. Here are some of the projects we have implemented:
Water: Storm Water Management - Rain Garden
The Building Committee of Lake Harriet United Methodist Church commissioned studies of its entire one-half
block campus to determine the options to reduce storm water run-off into the Minneapolis storm water system
and to determine how to add “green space” to the existing parking lot. The study was done in 2011 and 2012.
During the study time frame, representatives of the local neighborhood association FNA (Fulton Neighborhood
Association) expressed an interest in joining with LHUMC to construct a demonstration rain garden to serve as an
example for home owners in the area.
The LHUMC study indicated there was a suitable site with adequate permeability for a rain garden on the
northwest corner of the campus. So, FNA commissioned a design for a rain garden to receive the run off from
about 1,500 Sq. ft. of roof area, about 10% of the entire church roof which is also about the area of a small house.
Unfortunately, the soil permeability on the remainder of the church campus is not permeable enough to facilitate
run off water in this way. FNA submitted their design plan to the local watershed (Minnehaha Creek Watershed
District) and received a 50% cost share reimbursement for the construction costs (about $7,000). The
construction of the actual rain garden was completed in late 2013 and LHUMC completed a plumbing
modification to direct rain water to the newly established garden in June, 2014. A didactic sign was recently
placed near the rain garden (see photo).
The LHUMC parking lot is the site of a popular farmers market on summer Saturdays and many in the
neighborhood stroll past the rain garden, so the hope is that this garden will stimulate others to do something of a
similar nature. The garden is populated with nine species of plants: Milk Weed, little Bluestem Grass, Purple
Coneflower, Black Eyed Susans, New England Astor, Stiff Goldenrod, Red Switch Grass, Virginia Blue Bell, Wild
Geranium, Cardinal Flower and Compact Red-twig Dogwood.
As a result of the comprehensive campus-wide study, the LHUMC parking lot was also modified in 2013 by
inserting areas that collect a small portion of the surface water from the lot via landscaped “green” islands and
perimeter areas. In addition to collecting water, these areas added some desired greenness and some shade to
what was otherwise a barren parking lot, improving the welcoming feeling as visitors approach the building.
Contact information: Jim Sowers Chair, LHUMC Building Committee; Email: mplsjsowers@gmail.com, 612-2404338
Food Safety - Composting
Lake Harriet has an on-site Pre-School education facility. Our co-directors recently saw an opportunity to
illustrate the importance of reducing organic materials in the waste stream, showing how organics can be put to
good use in the making of soils to build the organic food production cycle and empowering children to be a part of
these important practices.
A partnership was formed with the Fulton Neighborhood Association and the Fulton Farmers Market to find a
provider for composting service containers to be placed at our site and compostables are taken to soil creation
facilities nearby. The expenses for these services are shared amongst the partners. Additionally, we have sorting
containers in the education wing and also throughout the church building and administration offices.
Resources Utilization - Photo Voltaic Solar Panels
With the social principles in mind, and recognizing our community based assets, Lake Harriet set out to explore
the feasibility of finding an appropriate set of technologies and strategic partners to take advantage of our
location’s excellent sun power capturing capabilities to develop a local source of renewable energy. Lake Harriet
has a lot of flat roof area that gets plenty of sunshine! Our Board of Trustees is in the process of finding vendors,
partners and identifying financial resources to make a solar panel field on our rooftop a reality.
Our Trustee Board Chair met with various vendors to explore the possibilities for developing this technology.
Sundial Solar suggested partnering with a neighborhood group. Meetings with Linden Hills Power and Light have
brought our church into contacts with other possible partners in the community to work toward a shared vision of
care for creation. There are many more meetings and decisions to be made within our church community and in
concert with groups and individuals near Lake Harriet before this shared stewardship campaign brings the
necessary resources together. As a church we are excited about this shared ministry with our neighborhood
community organizations and individuals. Stay tuned! For more info contact:
Contact information: Søren Bijnagte, Chair Board of Trustees Lake Harriet UMC, trustees@lakeharrietumc.org