Earth, spirit intertwine

Ecology group, church team up

Katharine Garnett, 9, of Madison, Conn., held her dog, Chester, as minister Nancy Haverington offered a blessing during the blessing of the animals ceremony at the First Parish Church of Newbury this month. (Lisa Poole for The Boston Globe)

Environmentalists and a church rooted in tradition may seem like an unlikely combination, but there is a movement afoot in Newbury to use the pulpit as a forum for environmental as well as social justice.

The First Parish Church, organized in 1635, is trying to unite the first, who tend to be more grounded in science, with the spiritual teachings of its ministry.

"Stewards of earth and spirit" proclaimed a large sign last year in front of the 19th-century white clapboard church building. That sign led the founders of the Greater Newburyport Community Supported Agriculture program to suggest a partnership.

"We saw the sign and thought it would fit really well with our mission," said Bonnie Silva, cofounder of the agriculture program with her partner, Russ Barry. "And in fact, that was their thought also."

The contact provided the impetus for the church to use about a third of an acre "out back" that was not being used, said minister Nancy Haverington. This is the first year the environmental vision that began two years ago has borne fruit. The pick-your-own gardens flourished all summer in the certified organic soil.

"The environment is now a moral imperative," said Haverington.

The United Church of Christ, to which the Newbury congregation belongs, has called upon its members to become more deeply engaged in stewardship initiatives.

Gary Gardner, a senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute, an environmental research organization in Washington, wrote in 2002 that the union of environmentalists and religious institutions is "a powerful combination that until recently remained virtually unexplored. . . . Each looks at the world from a moral perspective; each views nature as having value that surpasses economics; and each opposes excessive consumption."

Powerful it may prove to be for the church, which is just over the Newburyport line on Newbury High Road. Haverington said this year, on average, three families a week joined, and they are citing the environmental and experiential slants as the reason.

"A lot of people are hungry for this," she added.

Lynn Kinsella of Salisbury had little knowledge of First Parish before she won a Toyota Prius in a church-sponsored raffle last spring. She was impressed with the sense of inclusion as well as the green aspect, so she joined. She is now the church's youth group coordinator.

"It's been a great experience," she said.

But some parishioners had no taste for Haverington's course after she came on board in 2001, and left the congregation.

The church is down to 65 active congregants, and like many other churches is in the midst of a financial crunch. It is now negotiating the sale of a historic rooster weathervane that once sat on top.

Deacon Erin Stack said she has not seen such energy and excitement in the church since she joined eight years ago.

Haverington has a bit of the maverick in her. She holds an annual blessing of congregants' pets and has started holding outdoor eco-services on Saturday afternoons.

Inside a church that embraces nature - visitors include reptiles, a miniature horse, and even a reindeer during a Christmas celebration - the Oct. 12 blessing of the animals seemed almost tame. About 15 cats and dogs were brought into the sanctuary by parishioners, church deacons, and Haverington.

The first of the eco-services was held in the rain. Participants, she said, feel the rain and will feel what it's like to be cold, and that is what she thinks will engender compassion for others who don't have a refuge from the elements.

"We have so much, and we are really, really blessed . . . and we tend to forget that," she explained.

The pastor said the church is not just jumping on the "New Age bandwagon," but she is stretching herself to include the Saturday eco-services and a Celtic contemplative service on Wednesday evenings.

The community gardens and the services are interdenominational.

"My ministry consists of inner and outer expressions of faith," Haverington said.

In the outer realm are adult education classes, sustainable cooking classes, and self-led courses on simplicity and ethics, among other topics from the Northwest Earth Institute, an Oregon group that supplies environmental course materials. .

Also making the connection between the temporal and the divine, the church is a member of the Seacoast Energy and Environmental Design Coalition, or Newburyport SEED, and is heavily involved in SEED's Earth Day celebrations.

It also has linked up with Newburyport's Green Artists League, which is headed by Stack. The artists are painting a mural in the church hall documenting the progress of the community efforts for the benefit of the earth.

"It's insanely ambitious," said Stack of the initiatives.

The number of community gardens will increase next year, and the spot under the trees behind the church will still be the pickup point for CSA members.

"We have made a conscious decision to be a church not for us, but for the community," Haverington said.