True-green believers for Palm Sunday

"Eco-Palms'' for Palm Sunday?

It's the latest trend sweeping churches across the country. And frosty St. Paul is the unlikely hub of a movement designed to harvest tropical palms in an environmentally friendly way.

"We started with a pilot project in Minnesota in 2005 ... and this year we sold 640,000 palms in 2,500 churches,'' said Dean Current, a University of Minnesota forestry professor who coordinates the project.

"A lot of people get excited about this, because they're buying palms anyway," he said. "Through their purchases they're able to contribute to rural communities of Guatemala and Mexico.''

The Rev. Glen Berg-Moberg is among the early converts. His St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church is now a community pickup site for the palms, which are distributed nationwide by Hermes Floral.

On Friday, two days before Palm Sunday, the floor of the church social hall was covered with long, narrow boxes filled with fronds. Church leaders from Roseville to Lakeville stopped by to pick up orders.

"Christian churches are the largest consumers of palms in North America,'' said Berg-Moberg, opening a box to inspect the fan-shaped greens. "But with that comes responsibilities.''

The Rev. Gary Hanson, searching for his order, agreed.

"I really care about world hunger, and this is a way to put money into the hands of people who need it,'' said Hanson, who serves Minnesota churches in Albert Lea and Conger. "With millions of these (palms) bought each year, this could really make an impact.''

Current never set forth to launch an Eco-Palm enterprise. An expert in international development projects, he was contacted by a nonprofit organization wondering whether there was a market for the palms.

Current's research concluded there was. About 25 million palm stems are sold every year for Palm Sunday, he learned. And thousands of churches already were tuned into "fair trade" coffee, grown using a similar model. Many also were active in environmental and hunger issues.

And so the project began in 2005, linking forestry cooperatives in Guatemala and Mexico to a researcher and floral business in St. Paul.

Here's how it works: Indigenous workers cut by hand a frond or two from each palm without destroying the plant, so it can be reharvested the next year. Previously, there were no environmental standards for cutting.

U.S. churches buy the fronds for 25 cents each. The cooperatives receive 7 cents for every stem for Palm Sunday sales and 2 cents a stem the rest of the year, mostly for use in floral arrangements.

Workers take in more money for Palm Sunday because Hermes Floral kicks in an extra 5 cents per stem for the occasion, Current said. Cooperatives will get about $32,000 this year, he said. Proceeds have been used for scholarships, books and educational opportunities for local families.

Hermes Floral now becomes a tropical oasis every spring, as staff sort through 600,000 fronds and send them to 44 states. Manager Stephanie Sands, who hires extra staff for the occasion, jokingly calls it "Eco-Palm madness.''

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville made this year's biggest order -- 2,000 stems. The palms will be used in a musical drama and for a procession into church Sunday, said Handt Hanson, church worship director.

While some churchgoers prefer the long, straight palms used traditionally in Christian churches, Hanson favors the eco variety because they don't fray, don't get stuck in the carpet and are "easier to deal with.''

Current admits he has heard skeptics claim that such ventures are nothing but a marketing scam. But he insists Eco- Palms are the real thing. "We know Hermes cuts the rebate checks and that they get to the communities. And we've been down in the communities and seen how they've used the money.''

Current attributes the boom to collaboration of groups such Lutheran World Relief, Catholic Relief Services and other denominations.

"To honor the creator, we have to honor creation," Berg-Moberg said.

Jean Hopfensperger • 651-298-1553