(Indianapolis, Ind - DNS - April 8, 2009) - Disciples will play their part in helping to green the environment by planting trees at an Indianapolis church later this month. Staff from the Disciples Center will join other volunteers to plant 10 trees at Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on April 21. General Minister and President Sharon Watkins and numerous regional ministers from around the country also will participate in the planting.

The trees will be donated by a community improvement organization, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Inc. (KIB). Although KIB will provide the trees, Central Christian Church has made a three-year commitment to water and maintain them.

"This seems like a good opportunity to get staff out into a local congregation," said Angela Herrmann, coordinator for environmental education and advocacy of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The original dream and vision was to plant 200 trees in Indianapolis in remembrance of the 200th Anniversary of a Disciples founding document, "The Declaration and Address."

The tree planting coincides with the General Assembly's initiative of keeping it "green." The Assembly offers a model and tools for greening Disciples congregations, events and even their lives. "Planting trees is one way to help absorb C02 emissions," said Herrmann, who is also coordinator of "Green" events at the Assembly. Much like the leaves of the trees in the General Assembly logo, "these trees can help contribute to a better quality of life in our neighborhoods."

"As a Christian, we're all part of God's creation," noted Brooks Barrick, an area pastor and chair of missions for the Local Arrangements Committee. "In the world we live in now, we have to have a consciousness about our responsibility towards God's creation and a part of that is doing activities like planting trees and recycling."

Central Christian was chosen to receive the trees because it is located in downtown Indianapolis, which has only about a 15 percent tree canopy. "Studies show that urban settings should have about a 25 percent canopy," noted Herrmann. "Trees help mitigate the urban heat island effect, along with all their many other benefits."

Andrew Hart, director of the NeighborWoods program at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, said KIB focuses on neighborhoods that need trees the most, such as areas with a low tree canopy, a high urban heat island effect, high industrial emissions, and a high concentration of children.

"We have encouraged churches throughout Marion County to look at their properties to see if they have a large enough area to support trees," said Hart. "Trees planted anywhere in the county will benefit all of the residents through cleaner air and water. Oftentimes, churches have decided to engage in our program, 'Planting for Purpose,' so that they actually are raising money for trees to be planted in hot spots."

The tree planting at Central Christian will contribute to KIB's goal of planting 100,000 trees in Indianapolis between 2007 and 2017 as part of their NeighborWoods project. The Assembly's Local Arrangements Committee has led the tree planting effort at the Indianapolis church. Disciples Home Missions has also been involved.

The congregation will provide rakes and shovels for the planting, and is looking forward to getting the trees in the ground. "We have some available land and thought this would be a good idea to help fill some of those spaces," said Terry Bradbury, a member at Central Christian, which is the oldest Disciples congregation in Indianapolis.

Young trees must have plenty of water to survive, which is why recipients of the KIB trees are required to water them and prepare a three-year plan for maintaining the plants. Urban centers typically have more concrete than other parts of a city, which affects water runoff. More asphalt also increases the temperature. Urban greening experts say anything that can be done to add more greenery helps lower temperatures and improve water flow. Other Disciples churches in the area will likely plant 200 additional trees this fall.

Many other tools for creating a more green environment will be offered at the Assembly, which takes place July 29 to Aug. 2. One important tactic explains ways to help Disciples who will travel to Assembly offset their miles. "It is an exercise that will begin to change people's habits," explained Herrmann. "It also will have an immediate impact on the communities where they live because of the changed behavior inspired by the offset mileage program. The whole program is about introducing people to different ways of traveling so they can think about things that they can do differently at home. People can take the environmental practices that they learn at the Assembly and start implementing those things in their homes and congregations."

For more information on plans to green the Assembly, visit: www.disciples.org/GeneralAssembly/KeepingItGreen/tabid/341/Default.aspx

By James Patterson