July 25, 2007: Good neighbors...in a real neighborhood As I buzz along on my scooter or in the car, I’ve noticed blue and white yard signs that announce: "CLOSE THE PIT." The signs are directed toward the company Georgia-Pacific. I really didn’t know what it meant. I remembered an explosion at this plant on the south side of Columbus some years ago...but I thought everything had been fixed and law suits settled. Last week I received a call from someone who wanted to talk to me about THE PIT. She was going around to pastors of churches on the eastside of Columbus and especially those “down wind” from the plant. As it turns out, THE PIT is a football size pit filled with highly toxic chemicals from the Georgia-Pacific plant. The neighbors around the plant brought in technical consultants who said that the “large wastewater lagoon is a substantial and uncontrolled source of federally designated ‘hazardous air pollutants.’” The recommendation was that the lagoon be closed and replaced by a modern system that is used in many other plants in the country. There appears to be no desire to implement a plan to update their site and the plant manager has been calling THE PIT a harmless “bio-pond.” Unfortunately, “the Ohio EPA has not regulated this chemical lagoon for air emissions. Instead it is allowed to vent formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals directly into the air.” Now you might say it is none of our business to get involved in such an issue that concerns a company doing business in the city and an neighborhood that is not a part of Redeemer’s neighborhood or many of the neighborhoods of our members. Then I wondered about the parable from a few weeks ago. It all started with the lawyer who presses Jesus by asking “Who is my neighbor?” Well, in a society like ours, neighbor becomes the designation of those we don’t see...and those we may never have to encounter. In addition, with the way businesses can become an overwhelming power in any neighborhood, it is often very difficult for the ordinary folk alongside the roads near these places to have any say or influence in regard to practices that are a potential hazard or a previous hazard to the immediate neighbors. Sometime this week I plan on “scooting” by this plant to see the layout of the neighborhood. I do think in a society like ours, the church needs to keep its eyes and ears open to things like this. If you know anyone near the Georgia-Pacific plant (1975 Watkins Rd.) call and ask them about this neighbor of theirs. As an eastside neighbor, I want to begin to think about how a church can act in the way we have been taught to act because of who we are. Along with my scooter tour, I will be writing a letter to the plant manager asking that he take a more active role in closing THE PIT and moving Georgia-Pacific to install an up-to-date waste water treatment facility. A company of this size should not have a problem doing this as part of the neighborhood in which they do their business and make their profit. Christ’s Peace! pastoral F. Allan Debelak is the Pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church on the east side of Columbus