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Your Congregation | Car Free Sunday
Drive-Less Sunday
Download a Bulletin Insert or
Flyer
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On this Sunday, you
and your congregation can help to share the Sabbath with
God's creation. By biking, carpooling, walking, or riding the bus
you'll help to give creation a break from harmful pollutants and greenhouse
gases. You'll also give yourself the gift of slowing down and enjoying the
Sabbath.
Cosponsored by Earth Ministry, Associated Ministries of
Tacoma/Pierce County, and Transportation Choices
Coalition.
Congregations Celebrating
Drive-less Sunday in 2004
Going Car Free? Please let us know.
Ideas for Drive-less
Sunday
One Congregation's
Experience
Resources & Links
Tips for Bike Riders
Congregations Celebrating Drive-Less Sunday in 2004
All
Saints Episcopal Church, Seattle, WA (May 23)
Faith Lutheran Church,
Leavenworth, WA (May 23)
Freeport
United Methodist Church, Freeport, Long Island, NY (May 23)
Jefferson
Unitarian Church in Golden, CO (May 23)
Prince of Peace Lutheran
Church, Seatac, WA (May 23)*
Snoqualmie United Methodist Church, WA
(May 23)*
United Church in
University Place, University Place, WA (May 23)
University
Baptist Church, Seattle, WA (May 30)*
Read about the
University Baptist's Drive-Less Sunday
Woodland Park United Methodist
Church, Seattle, WA (May 23)
* - those
congregations also participating in Earth Ministry's
Caring for All Creation: On the
Road program
Going
Car Free?
If members of your congregation plan to walk, bike, carpool, or bus on Car
Free Sunday please let us
know by sending an email to emoffice@earthministry.org.
We'd like to list your congregation on our web site and let others in the wider
community know about your choice to share the Sabbath with all creation. Please
also use this contact information, after the event, to share your alternative
transportation stories and celebrations with others.
Every congregation is unique and will have its own way of celebrating Drive-Less Sunday. Here are some ideas that our staff and partnering Colleague congregations have suggested:
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Identify organizers: It is helpful for one person or a small group of congregational members to take on the role of spreading the word, helping to coordinate carpools, helping to provide educational and practical resources, etc. If you see yourself as an organizer, consider whether or not you would like to recruit other organizers to help with specific tasks.
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Spread the word early: Give your members plenty of notice about Drive-less Sunday. You can use our download-able bulletin insert and flyer, or create ones of your own. Verbal announcements during worship time are also helpful (and can help to raise awareness and enthusiasm as well).
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Consider carpooling: For some congregations, carpooling is the best option. It allows for fellowship in the car and a greater sense of connection with other members. Some congregational organizers take the time to coordinate carpools according to members' addresses. This has helped members in a few local congregations to get to know the members in their neighborhoods even better.
Some congregations also have vans and buses -- of course, you can incorporate these into Drive-less Sunday as well. -
Count cars: Over a series of Sundays, count the total number of cars in your congregation's parking lot. Average these totals. On Drive-less Sunday, count the number of cars in the parking lot, and compare this number with your previous average. Announce your comparison before, during, or after the worship service.
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Educate: Sometime during the worship service and/or during your times for education (e.g., Sunday School), help people in your congregation to understand why, as people of faith, you care about how you get to worship on Sundays. For helpful educational resources, go to the Interfaith Climate Change Network's web site: www.protectingcreation.org.
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Celebrate!: Before, during, or after the worship service, take time to celebrate people's transportation choices. In one local congregation, members receive awards for the silliest form of transportation, the youngest and oldest bikers, greatest number of people in a carpool, etc. Another local congregation takes time to bless bicyclists and pedestrians -- praying for their safety and health, and for the blessing that they are to creation.
If you want incorporate creation-awareness and care into your worship service, go to our Earth Day page for a variety of resources.
Bike to Church
...Helps
congregations Celebrate
Earth Day
By Steven Garrett, Unitarian Universalist Church of Tacoma
Herman Diers, who is 73 years young, rides his bicycle everywhere. “I use my bicycle to visit friends, go to work, shop, and for recreation. I have never ridden it to church, but it makes sense. It just adds one more way to use my bicycle,” he said. Diers, who is the Community Organizer for the Hilltop Action Coalition (in Tacoma), will let others in his congregation at the First Lutheran Church know about this third annual event.
Bike to Church Day is the idea of Unitarian Universalist Church of Tacoma members, Susan and Steven Garrett and Tandi Rogers. Rogers, who is the Development Director for Associated Ministries, is utilizing the network of the Associated Ministries to challenge Pierce County congregations to get as many members as they can to ride to worship the Sunday closest to Earth Day (April 22). The “winner” will be the congregation that gets the most members riding to worship in relationship to the size of their congregation.
While bicycling to worship may seem daunting, most people, even those with children can do it. The Garretts often ride to church with their 8 and 10 year old children, Laurel and Chelsea, respectively. “Bicycling is something Steven and I have always loved doing together and we are glad that we can finally ride to places as a family,” said Susan.
Steven is organizing Unitarian Universalist Church members who want to ride that day. Church members will meet at the Garrett’s house early and ride from there. She is hoping that there will be meeting places for people in other parts of Tacoma.
“This event makes sense for churches to promote since bicycling to church is good for the soul as well as the body,” said Diers. “We hope that this event will be successful and will be adopted by other communities,” said Rogers.
Out of this hope, this year other faith-based and
environmental organizations will also help to spread the word about “Bike to
Worship” weekend. These groups
include Earth Ministry, Washington Association of Churches, the Washington State
Interfaith Climate Change Campaign, Northwest Jewish Environmental Project, and
Climate Solutions. Not only will
these groups promote bicycling as an invigorating and helpful transportation
alternative, but walking, busing, and carpooling as well.
For “getting there”:
Earth Day Network's Car Free Day: www.earthday.net/goals/carfree.stm helps to connect you with people around the country who are also taking part in "Car Free Days."
Transportation Connections: www.transconnect.org, is a “transportation information clearing site that promotes the use of existing mass transportation options.” This site connects you with statewide transit links and other information useful in Washington state.
Riderlink: www.riderlink.gen.wa.us contains bus, car/vanpool, and bike information for the Central Puget Sound area.
Cascade Bike Club: www.cascade.org/bikeinfo.html
is a great source for bicycle maps and other information in the Seattle area,
and provides a wealth of information on bicycling in general.
For education and
advocacy:
The Interfaith Climate Change Network: www.protectingcreation.org, is an electronic network on the issue of global climate change that provides members with information and suggestions about what they can do at home, in congregations, and through public policy advocacy to protect creation. Sponsored by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life and the National Council of Churches of Christ. For excellent congregational resources (including a video) on connecting climate change and faith, go to www.webofcreation.org/climate.html.
Climate Solutions: www.climatesolutions.org can help you to learn more about global warming: its current and potential impacts on the Pacific Northwest and how people are helping to mitigate it.
Transportation Choices Coalition: www.transportationchoices.org, is a diverse coalition of individuals and organizations advocating for alternatives to “driving alone.”
What Would Jesus Drive?
Campaign: www.whatwouldjesusdrive.org,
looks at transportation as a moral, Christian issue.
- By Steven Garrett, Unitarian Universalist Church of Tacoma
1. Wear a helmet. You can buy them from Mary Bridge Hospital in Tacoma for only $5 by calling (253) 403-1234. Adults need to protect their brains, too. It is the law in Tacoma and Pierce County and other places in our region.
2. Meet in convenient places where people can ride in groups. You are more visible that way.
3. Wear bright colors. See #2.
4. Make sure your bicycles are well tuned. Just oiling the chains and pumping the tires to their recommended level can make a big difference. You will roll easier and not squeak. If you are not sure about how to tune your bike, bring it in to a bike shop. Having working gears is nice but working brakes are critical.
5. If it is raining, wear lightweight rain gear (if you have any), put your church clothes in plastic bags in pannier bags or in daypacks. Hang your wet bicycling clothes in a well-ventilated place at church, preferably near a heat source. You may need to bring hangers.
6. Bring bike tools, spare tire tubes, a pump, and tire irons - just in case.
7. Start early to allow for slower bikers such as kids, seniors, and the many victims of "couch potato blight."
8. If it is cool, wear layers of clothing rather than heavy winter coats and peel off layers (before you get hot!) so you will not get so sweaty. Gloves keep fingers warm while cushioning the hands.
9. Bring bicycle locks (and keys!) if you plan on leaving bikes outside.
10. Plan your route ahead of time. Try to find a route that has few cars, wide lanes, and safe intersections. You may also want to find the flattest route! Sunday morning is the best time of the week to ride on the roads, but by the early afternoon, traffic can build up.