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We've been having some discussions at our church about the type of palm branches we use for Palm Sunday. Likely unknown to many people, the harvesting of the palm branches bought in most florists shops come from very poor areas where the harvesters strip the trees down because they are paid for quantity rather than quality. This strips the forests bare, creating other environmental issues, and the workers themselves are paid very little.
I've been reading about eco-palms on the Presbyterian and Lutheran church websites. Eco-palms are harvested through sustainable growth and provide fair wages that stay in the community.
It's too late for us to order eco-palms this year, but we certainly plan to do so in future years. I am wondering if other churches also use eco-palms, and whether more churches should be encouraged to pursue the use of eco-palms for their Palm Sunday services?
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Thanks for bringing this issue to our attention. I had no idea!
This year we used cedar boughs instead of palm branches. We decided that we would choose something that was available locally, hoping that this would help the congregation connect with the story. Last year, when the gospel reading was from Luke, we used cloaks and coats, since that is what Luke says the people in the first Palm Sunday parade used.
Thanks! Using something locally available is a great idea. We will consider this ourselves in future.
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