earth care central



According to the Earth Care Pledge, "God calls us to be careful, humble stewards of this earth, and to protect and restore it for its own sake, and for the future use and enjoyment of the human family."  CENTRALongmont is committed to integrating environmental practices and thinking into all facets of congregational life including worship, facilities, education and outreach.  There are many ways to get connected through your love for God's creation.  Join Us!  See below for several fun ways to get involved today.  

faith climate action week / earth day

April 19 - 25

In this moment in our country’s history we are experiencing three great overlapping challenges: a pandemic sparking an economic downturn causing more families to go hungry, racial injustice awareness rising, and the climate crisis worsening. We have an opportunity to address all of these issues with one focus – our food practices.

This week around Earth Day, we are going to explore how our food systems and practices contribute to injustice and to climate change.  The Earth Care team invites you to join us in the following during Faith Climate Action Week:


  • Register for a free home viewing of the film "Kiss the Ground".  Watch it with your family anytime between April 10 - 25 (see below for more details).
  • Join us for a Zoom discussion about the movie "Kiss the Ground" Monday, April 19 at 6:30 with guest panelist from Ollin Farm - Project 95 joining us to share about regenerative farming here in Boulder County.  Register for your link to the Zoom discussion here.
  • Join us for one of our small group field trips to visit our neighbor store Simply Bulk Market (right across the street from CENTRALongmont).  Learn why buying in bulk is good for you and the planet.  Receive a $5 coupon to use at the store to start you on your buying in bulk journey. Multiple times available April 19 - 23.  Email Jennifer if you are interested in joining us or sign up for one of the time slots here!
  • Commit to growing an extra row or two in your home garden to share with the food insecure for our new Giving Gardens initiative, or support the new congregational Giving Garden (see below for more details).
  • Join us for a special Earth Care worship service on Sunday, April 25.


Food is the place where each of us intersects daily with God’s gifts of sun, water, soil and microbial magic.  We have a sacred duty to be stewards of the Earth that supports all life, for all God’s creatures and for future generations. Supporting food justice, reversing climate change, and protecting God’s gifts of clean air and water are central to this duty. 


kiss the ground

What if there was a simple solution that could help balance our climate, replenish our freshwater supplies, and feed the world? That solution is right under our feet.


Kiss the Ground is a new film about how regenerating the world’s soils has the potential to rapidly stabilize Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems, and create abundant food supplies. This film explains why transitioning to regenerative agriculture could be key in rehabilitating the planet, while simultaneously invigorating a new sense of hope and inspiration in viewers.


Watch the trailer and register to view the film here.


Thanks to a special arrangement with Kiss the Ground and Ro*co films, Interfaith Power and Light will offer a free online viewing period for home viewing from April 10 through April 26. All viewers must register with IPL.  Once you register you will receive a link-to-view for three different versions—the full-length film (84 minutes), a grower version (45 minutes), and an educational version for schools (45 minutes.)

CENTRALongmont Giving gardens


In an effort to help fight hunger in our community in conjunction with caring for the Earth, Session has approved our new Giving Gardens initiative.  According to the organization Feeding America, fresh fruits and vegetables are one of the most requested food items at food banks that are often in short supply.  Also, according to Feeding America, one in 11 of our neighbors in Boulder County struggles with hunger — including more than 6,000 children [based on 2018 data, just think what this number might be after 2020].  

We would like to join this fight to end hunger in our community by both creating a new congregational giving garden at a member's property, as well as by encouraging a home giving garden army to aid us in this effort.   We are just getting started.  


How can you help?  Join us.  Reach out to Jennifer Haratsaris to be part of the team working the congregational 20'x40' plot at Ann's property.  We will be breaking ground soon.  Or find a spot in your yard, planter boxes or containers to "grow a row" or two to share with our community this summer and fall.  The fruits of our labor will be donated through The Round Pantry at Westview, other mission partners or through Grow and Give outlets this summer and fall.  We are still defining our distribution methods.  Stay tuned!


We will be joining a larger "food growing army" in our community organized through the Grow and Give CSU Extension project.  According to the CSU Extension, "this modern Victory Garden idea is designed for citizens to grow vegetable gardens and plant extra to share with local food banks and community members in need.  Historically, victory gardens were planted on public and private land during World War I and World War II to reduce pressure on the public food supply. Roughly 40% of the U.S. vegetables grown in those years came from 20 million victory gardens."  As we work together, we will learn how to grow food with sustainable practices, caring for bees, our soil and water supply while working to feed our neighbor and ourselves with a low carbon footprint.  


Watch for updates and helpful tips each month in our Earth Care CENTRALPosts!

helping the round pantry reduce food waste

We love our partnership with The Round Pantry at Westview and our new initiative to help them lower their waste footprint during Pantry weeks.  Many of our members regularly volunteer each Pantry week to feed the growing numbers of food insecure in our community.  Next time, volunteer while helping the Earth.  


Each Pantry week, some of the bread, dessert or produce arrives spoiled or accidentally smashed and cannot be shared with Pantry shoppers.  This waste was often thrown in the trash by the gallons (64+ gallons most weeks).  Our Earth Care team has created 2 partnerships with local farms in our community to take produce and bread/dessert waste and use it as feed for livestock; chickens, goats, pot belly pigs and cows!  


The Pantry has asked us to help support the retraining of their volunteers to save this food waste.  It is always a joy to work at The Pantry.  Now you can help feed your Longmont neighbor and reduce the amount of waste that gets produced each week and thrown in the land fill.  Volunteer at the Pantry bagging bread or produce and help train their volunteers to save this waste for the farm animals.  Reach out to Jennifer for more details.

green up clean up!

We love to join our community in helping keep Longmont beautiful.  We participate in the annual Green Up Clean up event with others to clean-up our streets, alleys, parks and our greenways.  Each and every one of us deserves to live in a community environment that is healthy, clean and beautiful, and we all have a role in achieving this goal.  Green Up Clean Up events usually occur in April for Earth Day month, but due to COVID-19 they have been postponed to the fall.   We look forward to our next Green Up Clean Up event in 2021.

(Some of our team visiting the Eco-Cycle Facility in Boulder)


If you are interested in learning more, or joining us in this important ministry, email Jennifer Haratsaris.