HISTORIC CHURCH SAVED FROM BEING "EATEN ALIVE"

NEW YORK--Built in 1892, the Good Shepherd Church, located next to Lincoln Center in New York City, is surrounded by a sea of concrete today--but that didn't stop termites from finding its hardwood floors and wooden structural support beams in the past.

For Knockout Pest Control, Good Shepherd's story combines modern and consumer-preferred pest control, preservation of a New York City landmark, and a happy ending.

Although it's only two blocks away from heavily wooded Central Park, the church's property is surrounded by concrete, parking garages and high-rise buildings. With that much concrete, you'd never expect subterranean termites to pose a threat, a company rep explains, but in 1997, extensive termite damage was discovered throughout the substructure. Termites infested the hardwood floors and structural supports, and thousands of swarmers--adult reproductives--were observed throughout the building. The church was in danger of developing serious structural problems if the termites weren't destroyed.

With the building's 109-year-old rubble foundation, limited soil access and attachment to two other buildings, exterminators decided it would be impossible to create a chemical barrier in the soil surrounding the foundation. (And since the barrier can also break down over time, it wasn't a feasible approach.) However, they also wanted to avoid doing unnecessary damage to the historic building. They needed a more permanent solution.

The answer: a termite colony elimination system. According to Arthur Katz, president of Sentricon System, producer of the chosen method, this was the best solution. Technicians installed monitoring stations in the ground wherever soil access was available. Since there were high levels of infestation inside the church, they also used Recruit AG bait stations when access to active termite infestations was found above ground.

The severity of the termite infestation and the possibility of multiple colonies infesting the building required using the bait stations for several months. When spring arrived, swarming did not take place for the first time in many years as hexaflumuron, the active ingredient used in the Sentricon System, began affecting the termites. Technicians also monitored infested areas without baits to confirm that the hexaflumuron was spreading throughout the colony. After 24 months, termites were eliminated completely.

The system remains in place, and a group of technicians (also known as the "termite alarm system") still monitors for new colonies.

GARBAGE IN, MINISTRY OUT

UNITED CHURCH NEWS--A dumpster may not be everyone's idea of a ministry, but just ask leaders at Zion United Church of Christ in York, Pa.

The Rev. Robert. L. Anderson, senior pastor, says the idea evolved several years ago when the surrounding neighborhood needed a little cleaning up. The church had money left over from a fund designated for "neighborhood programs," and the dumpster ministry was born.

The dumpster goes up for a week each spring, and church members and neighborhood residents are invited to stop by and dump unwanted items. Despite having city trash pickup, Anderson says that sometimes items just never make it to the curb from the garage, porch or yard.

"People seem to respond to this," Anderson says, and estimates it costs the church only $700 to $1,000 annually. One year, he adds, the dumpster was so popular that it had to be dumped every day.

"We wanted to do something specifically for the neighborhood," Anderson says, "and we'll continue doing it."

GIVING FROM THE GARDEN

WATERLOO, IOWA--After a particularly "fruitful" harvest in his family's backyard garden one year, the Rev. Tim Ensworth, pastor at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Waterloo, Iowa, realized the colorful produce would be a stunning visual offering. Now each "Rally Day" at the church brings an abundance of fresh fruits and veggies, canned produce and flowers to the altar table. Some people also bring in items they've made over the summer.

"It comes with the condition that whatever is left there is a gift," says Ensworth, who explains that worshipers are invited to come up after services to take something home with them.

GOOD ENERGY STEWARDS REWARDED

UNITED CHURCH NEWS--In the early 1990s, Little River United Church of Christ in Annandale, Va., tightened its church building's energy costs. Leaders decided to install new roofing insulation, energy-efficient windows and lighting, replacing heat pumps and putting timers on the boilers, efforts which earned them a first-place energy conservation award from the local power company. Years later, when the church made major renovations and expansions to the facility, continuing energy efficiency was incorporated into the new design.

Former Board of Trustees chairperson Richard Davidson says energy conservation is just another form of stewardship. "We didn't do anything unusual or exotic," he says, "just a lot of common sense things. It takes some effort to look at where your money's going and figure out what you can do to reduce it."