WORTHINGTON, MN (May 8, 2008) \u2013 What began last year as an effort by First Covenant church\u2019s youth group to clean the shoreline of a local lake turned Saturday into a community wide effort to clean up the city.
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\n![\"Kids\"](\"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/uploads\/sN\/my\/sNmyBXowyWbENG8YjHmfXQ\/Lake-left.jpg\")
Nearly 90 people from the community spent Saturday picking up 1,100 pounds of garbage from three miles of Lake Okabena\u2019s shoreline, says First Covenant pastor John Stewart. Others picked up trash from several neighborhoods and parks.<\/p>\n
Twenty of the participants were youth and adults from First Covenant. Others were from four other church youth groups, as well as the recently formed Lake Okabena Improvement Association (LOIA) and the Worthington Historic District Association (WHDA).<\/p>\n
Prior to the event, the LOIA president told a local newspaper, \u201cOur goal is to hit all the public areas along the lake this time and feed off what First Covenant has already done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exactly what we wanted,\u201d says 15-year-old Jeremy Clark. \u201cWe wanted people to join the youth group and join the effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was nice to see, knowing we were the first to do it,\u201d adds 13-year-old Emma Roos, who says the job has gotten easier. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t as bad as the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Trash\"](\"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/uploads\/Lx\/lr\/LxlrPIB-Vy0siaHdlyf95A\/Lake-right.jpg\")
The first cleanup occurred last May, when the youth group decided it could serve the community by cleaning part of the lake\u2019s shoreline. For inspiration, they turned to Genesis 2:15 \u2013 \u201cThe LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.\u201d (TNIV)<\/p>\n
The group picked up 400 pounds of garbage on the first workday, says Stewart. They did three more cleanups over the next several months, netting about 100 pounds of garbage each time. The congregation joined them for a fifth day of cleanup.<\/p>\n
Participants say they sadly are no longer shocked by what they find. Numerous disposable diapers had been discarded in the lake as had shoes, a shovel and a nearly new bicycle. Figuring the bike had been stolen, the youth group turned it over to the local police. \u201cThere were others (items) that were unprintable,\u201d Stewart says.<\/p>\n