Today as members of St. Andrew Lutheran Church wave palm fronds to commemorate how Jesus was welcomed to Jerusalem, they will do so believing that Jesus would approve of how their palms were harvested.
The Shadyside church uses Eco-Palms, which are harvested by workers who earn fair wages and practice preservation of tropical forests.
"They’re more expensive than other palms, just as the coffee we serve here is more expensive because it is fair trade. But it’s a statement of social justice that we’re glad to make," said the Rev. Janet Grill, pastor of St. Andrew, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.