Orders will be taken until

Monday March 13, 2017 
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Contact

Kris
Homestead Presbytery
402-580-0947
hpoffice@homesteadpres.org

 

 

 2017 Eco Palm Orders

It's time to order your 2017 Eco Palms 

Palm Sunday is April 9, 2017  Be prepared and order your congregation's palms early!  Because the presbytery can do a bulk order, we can get each bunch for $6.20!   Each bunch contains approximately 18-20 palm fronds.   Orders will be taken through March 13, 2017.

Eco-Palms by the numbers

In 2016, 1,088 PC(USA) congregations ordered 192,560 palms to use for Palm Sunday. The overall sales for 2016 orders totaled 981,000 palm fronds ordered for all denominations.  In 2015, 995 PC(USA) congregations purchased Eco-Palms for Palm Sunday. 2015 orders totaled more than 183,640 palm fronds purchased.

Eco-Palms Materials for Your Congregation

Download a bulletin insert for your congregation for Palm Sunday to help explain why you’re using eco-palms and why it matters.

Make social and environmental justice part of your congregation’s worship

The great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord — the King of Israel!” (John 12:12-13)

Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, accented by the jubilant waving of palm branches, is re-enacted each Palm Sunday in Presbyterian and other Christian congregations worldwide as Holy Week observances begin. Unfortunately for the communities where these palms are harvested, palm fronds do not always represent the same jubilation they do for us.

In 2007 the PC(USA) teamed up with Lutheran World Relief, Catholic Relief Services and the University of Minnesota to offer congregations the option of purchasing responsibly harvested Eco-Palm branches for Palm Sunday. The palms come from communities in Mexico and Guatemala where workers are paid fairly and engage in sustainable harvesting in order to protect the local ecosystem.

Why order Eco-Palms?

  • Approximately 300 million palm fronds are consumed in the United States annually.
  • A congregation of 1,250 members orders approximately 700 fronds for Palm Sunday services.
  • Eco-palms are purchased directly from harvesters at five to six times the normal payment per frond.
  • Your purchase of eco-palms helps improve standards of living and protect forests.

Eco-Palms and your church: your role in supporting social and environmental justice

More than 300 million palm fronds are harvested each year for U.S. consumption alone — most of them for Palm Sunday, but also for floral displays for church-related events. Your congregation’s commitment to purchase eco-palms plays an important role in protecting forests, local jobs, and sustainable livelihoods in the harvesting communities.

Care Instructions

When your palms arrive, please open the box to make sure they are in good condition. You should store them in a cool location (such as a refrigerator or cool basement) and trim the stems 2-3 inches and place them upright in water (as you would a vase of flowers) until Palm Sunday. It is imperative you open the box immediately and air the palms out in order to prevent them from molding or deteriorating. For more information, please visit www.ecopalms.org.