Eco-Churches Take Action Across the U.S.
They might not garner as many headlines as big-name corporations when they go green, but many churches across the U.S. are tackling environmental challenges as a way to honor God’s creation.
Among those leading the way are groups like the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCC), whose Eco-Justice Working Group includes participants of every denomination from African Methodist Episcopal to Greek Orthodox and Mennonite. The NCC’s Washington, D.C.-based Eco-Justice Program also provides a wealth of resources to help churches and church-goers take environmental action.
Many of those actions are highlighted in the Eco-Justice Program’s guide to “Bottom Line Ministries that Matter: Congregational Stewardship with Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy Technologies.” Among the success stories held up as examples in the report:
The Hebron Baptist Church in Dacula, Georgia, which replaced nearly 1,000 light fixtures with high-efficiency bulbs. The switch not only saved the church $1,400 a month in energy costs, but reduced its carbon footprint by 1 million pounds;
St. John’s Baptist Church in New Orleans, which was heavily damaged by wind and water during Hurricane Katrina. The congregation made energy-efficiency a priority when developing its rebuilding plans, and added features including high-efficiency lighting and windows, improved insulation, LED exit lights, motion-sensor controls for lighting and energy-saving heating and air-conditioning;
The Interfaith Coalition on Energy, which performs energy audits for churches in the Northeast and encourages congregations to reduce their energy costs and consumption.
As the “Bottom Line Ministries” guide says, “People of faith can strive to reduce the impacts of their energy consumption in order to fulfill the ministry to be better stewards of God’s creation.” That’s a goal anyone of any faith (or none) can agree with wholeheartedly.
To see more environmental resources for churches and to learn more about the NCC’s Eco-Justice Program, visit the organization’s Website.
