Thelma Miller (pictured here, left) was nine years old when her family first began worshiping at New Mickle Baptist Church (NMBC) [1] in Camden, New Jersey. That was approximately 50 years ago, and NMBC is still an important part of her life. Now 63, Thelma retired from the Philadelphia public school system in 2003, and she currently serves as the church’s Coordinator of Community Outreach. As part of that outreach, NMBC offers monthly dinners and weekly distributions of fruits and vegetables for those in need as well as some very special holiday dinners.
Every year, NMBC serves Christmas Dinner to those in the community who lack the means or ability to prepare their own. Dozens of church members start cooking four days before the holiday, and on Christmas Day, volunteers serve approximately 400 meals to those in need. Most of it is served at the church, but more than 100 of those meals are delivered to homebound seniors living in two nearby senior citizen high-rise buildings. Like Minister Miller, many of the volunteers who help prepare and serve NMBC’s holiday dinners have been helping out for many years. “We have people show up faithfully every year,” says Minister Miller. “The beauty is that they still come back.”
On December 25, the folks who enjoyed NMBC’s Christmas Dinner were given another gift as well: An energy-efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb and the opportunity to learn about the energy savings offered by CFL bulbs. A total of 250 CFL bulbs were distributed, part of Project Porchlight New Jersey’s campaign to distribute energy-efficient light bulbs to residents across the state. Project Porchlight is an initiative of One Change [2], and the campaign is made possible thanks to funding by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) [3] and New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP) [4].
For Minister Miller, collaborating with Project Porchlight was extremely rewarding.
“I don’t think you can live in the world and not be interested in protection of the earth,” she says. “As a Christian, that’s part of our stewardship of the earth. The mandate was given way back to Adam and Eve, to care for the Garden and be good stewards for it. That was part of my upbringing—learning to care for one another, but also care for the earth and its resources.”
Minister Miller admires the way that Project Porchlight empowers people to believe that simple actions matter and to make smart choices that protect the environment. “What Project Porchlight is doing is very much in line with what we try to do in ministry,” says Minister Miller. “Everybody can do something. Everyone does make a difference. Everyone is a person of impact.”
When it comes to protecting our environment, simple actions matter. Even something as simple as changing a light bulb can really make a difference. “Project Porchlight is giving people an awareness that is so very important,” says Minister Miller. “We look forward to future collaborations with Project Porchlight. The more we talk about protecting the resources of the earth, and the more we reach one another, the closer we are to reaching our collective goals.”
In the meantime, Minister Miller is planning to use the church’s newsletter to prompt congregants to remain mindful of energy efficiency and ways to help protect the earth’s resources. “I just want to remind everybody,” she says. “Now that we all have these energy-saving CFL bulbs, let’s keep it going.”