Brad Roos, executive director of Zion Development in Rockford, Ill., bought one of the eco-friendly condos the agency created.
Lutheran social servicesgo green
saying: “Artman is a facility concerned with excellent customer service and being a model of good stewardship in the community. Why aren’t there more environmentally and ecologically sound principles being employed there?” That struck a chord with Fisher. When Burrell shared specific ideas about how Liberty Lutheran—especially Artman—could become greener, she asked him to pres- ent his ideas at an executive team meeting. “Chris’ pre- sentation fostered a lot of things in the organization,” Fisher said. “Afterward, we developed green teams throughout the organization and implemented other earth-friendly programs.” At Artman, Liberty Lutheran installed solar panels and sponsored an event where people in surrounding commu- nities could come to have documents shredded and paper recycled. And a Liberty Lutheran staff member now col- lects and recycles cell phones and batteries. Liberty Lutheran is one of more than 300 health and human services that are member organizations of Lutheran Services in America, an alliance of the ELCA and Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod that touches the lives of more than 6 million people a year—one in 50 Americans.
MICHAEL D. WATSON By Aaron Cooper I
n high school, Chris Burrell volunteered at Artman Lutheran Home in Ambler, Pa., serving food to elderly residents. As a student at Temple University in Phila- delphia, he remained connected to Artman, one of 28 agencies within Liberty Lutheran Services. One day Burrell, who was majoring in philosophy and environmental studies, shared an observation with long- time family friend Luanne Fisher, president and CEO of Liberty Lutheran in Philadelphia. Fisher recalled Burrell
Cooper is the advancement communications manager at Loyola University in Chicago.
Calling stewardship of the earth and our resources “something we’re called to do,” LSA President and CEO Jill Schumann explained, “We are called to care for peo- ple, for communities and for creation.” LSA member organizations can find resources and stories from Lutherans Restoring Creation (www.
lutheransrestoringcreation.org), a grass-roots move- ment of the ELCA that seeks to foster care for creation in all expressions of the church’s life. “In the case of [social ministry organizations], we have a holistic approach to most institutions,” said David Rhoads, director of Lutherans Restoring Creation. That includes “not just the building and grounds but also the worship life, the presence of nature as part of healing for people in institutions where they are recovering and sustaining life, employee and participant training [in] conservation, and learning to live a sustainable lifestyle in people’s homes and shared dwellings,” he said. Environmental stewardship is also a central operating practice for Lutheran Social Services of New England. To become a greener organization, it employs a process called virtualization. This space- and cost-saving digital
34 The Lutheran •
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