Disciple: Creation Care
Saving the world one step at a time
By Christine McTaggart and the Chartered Committee on Environmental Ministry
“This is the appointed time for all God’s children to work for the common goal of renewing the earth as a hospitable abode for the flourishing of all life. We are called to speak and act on behalf of God’s good creation.”
– House of Bishops, “Pastoral Teaching on the Environment,” September 2011
Climate change. Global warming. Environmental impact. These are terms used with increasing urgency with each passing year, as environmental advocates and educators work to raise awareness of how every person’s actions impact the world around them.
As Episcopalians, we are called to creation care in many ways, from the call to stewardship of the earth in Genesis and the Psalms, to the Book of Common Prayer, to the designation of environmental stewardship as the Fifth Mark of Mission of the Anglican Consultative Council. Our own diocesan bishops, the Rt. Rev. Michael Curry and the Rt. Rev. Anne E. Hodges-Copple, have repeatedly urged us all to respond to our duties as environmental stewards and to the impending climate crisis.
But sometimes answering that call isn’t easy. The prospect of making a difference against the rising tide of climate change can be daunting, overwhelming to the point where well-meaning people become mired in complicated and confusing data that ultimately keeps them frozen in inaction rather than helping them to take any action that might make a positive difference.
CREATION CARE
The Chartered Committee on Environmental Ministry for the Diocese of North Carolina is changing all of that. The members of the committee have long realized that, while action is needed, the scope of the issues combined with an increasing urgency has created a logjam preventing any forward movement. So they have created a plan to help congregations not only get a handle on what needs to be done, but also utilize new resources, infrastructure, guidelines and defined goals to put their plans into action.
Creation Care is a multiphase, multiyear plan that focuses on three areas: energy, water and food. The first phase of the project concentrates on energy: specifically, energy efficiency in parish facilities. The use and management of energy resources is a key issue as it has a major and inescapable environmental impact. As every parish uses precious and, at times, costly energy resources in their facilities, it is a natural place to start. Encouraging stewardship of energy resources through sound energy management, including the use of renewable resources wherever feasible, not only allows each of us to answer the spiritual stewardship call but also helps us take advantage of practical benefits as well.
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Installing energy-saving LED light bulbs at St. Thomas More. Photo courtesy of Interfaith Power and Light |
Dr. Bruce Hunn, Ph.D., has been working for the last several years with churches in the Raleigh area, studying their energy usage, conducting efficiency assessments, creating and implementing action plans and assessing the impact of those plans. What he has discovered is that by tightening up systems that are naturally susceptible to fluctuations of seasons, such as electricity and gas, churches can and usually do see a significant cost savings.
“Though the size and activity of the parishes varied widely, we did see churches spending a significant part of their budgets on energy,” says Hunn. “There is significant potential for energy cost savings, potentially in the thousands, after completing an energy assessment and implementing an action plan. Seeing the potential of these tangible benefits certainly doesn’t measure a church’s total environmental impact, but it does reinforce the [Creation Care] program and how it is providing a realistic, doable and vital step in the development of an environmental stewardship program in every parish.”
GETTING STARTED
For the next 12-18 months, the committee is inviting every diocesan worshiping community to focus on two energy-related goals.
First, complete an energy efficiency analysis and retrofit. This involves four steps:
1. Conduct an analysis of two or three years of monthly utility data (electric and gas bills, along with any other fuel usage as appropriate). From these monthly bills, an annual Energy Use Index (per square foot of floor area) and Energy Cost Index can be calculated. The diocesan environmental ministry committee can assist in conducting these analyses.
2. Conduct an energy assessment of your facility. North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light and Waste Reduction Partners provide assessors to complete the audits free of charge.
3. Based on the recommendations of the energy assessment, develop a plan of changes that need to be made.
4. Implement that plan within the resources and time table established by the parish.
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Inspecting vents for possible energy loss at Fairmont United Methodist Church. Photo courtesy of Interfaith Power and Light |
The second of the two goals is to establish an Environmental Stewardship Committee in your congregation (assuming you don’t already have one). This step provides a forum for educating the congregation in environmental stewardship issues and for coordinating the implementation of plans relating to the energy, water and food focuses.
“We would like to see parishes move Creation Care from the periphery to a more central place in their worship and individual spiritual lives,” says Dr. Carl Sigel, a member of the chartered committee.
“The work of environmental ministry is not a special interest or a peripheral issue but is grounded in who we are as Episcopalians,” adds David McDuffie, co-chair of the chartered committee. “Our individual and congregational relationships with the natural environment are connected to the core of our religious faith and practice. We are appealing to the foundations of our faith with this diocesan-wide initiative. It is our hope that it will help foster recognition of the ways we are intimately connected to our natural environments and awareness of the loving grace that binds all of life together in relationship with God.”
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
If talk of assessments, analyses and energy use indexes seems daunting, take heart. What sets this initiative apart from those of the past is an infrastructure and resource bank on which churches can lean and draw.
Each diocesan convocation has an assigned Environmental Coordinator, a person on whom a parish can call to ask questions, seek guidance, brainstorm ideas and request additional information. They stand ready to assist in helping to set up assessments, develop stewardship committees and programs, and generally serve as a connection point to help navigate and keep manageable the sometimes-overwhelming issues related to climate change.
Diocesan House is also supporting the program. Information, resources and updates can be found on the diocesan website, and the staff stands ready to share the stories, tales and experiences of churches who participate in Creation Care.
Finally, environmental stewardship awards will be presented to each congregation as it completes each of the four steps in its energy analysis and retrofit as well as the establishment of an environmental stewardship committee.
LET’S SAVE THE WORLD
The two goals outlined for 2015-2016 are only the start. As we, as a diocese, work through them, the Chartered Committee on Environmental Ministry will share the steps and goals relating to food and water in the years that follow.
“We think this initiative will be spiritually and financially rewarding for all congregations involved,” says McDuffie. “Paying close attention to the ways we relate to the natural environments in which we live will not only help us save money, but it will also help to promote a deeper awareness of our roles as members of God’s ongoing Creation.”
CONVOCATION ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATORS
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| Installing LED bulbs at Nativity, Raleigh. Photo by Emilie Sigel |
As congregations progress through energy assessments and the action items they produce, each convocation has an environment coordinator standing ready to provide resources and support.
Charlotte: Mike Shinn
Durham: Graham Swift
Greensboro: Tom Droppers
Raleigh: Carl Sigel
Rocky Mount: George Anderson
Sandhills: David McDuffie
Winston-Salem: Stephen McCollum
CHAMPIONS NEEDED!
One great way to keep your Creation Care program on track and moving forward is to designate an Environmental Champion for your congregation. Your champion will serve as the point person to spearhead your church’s initiative. Champions do not have to be clergy or vestry – it’s a great opportunity to get new volunteers involved!
If you’d like to know more about what it entails, please contact your convocation coordinator. Contact your convocation coordinator, too, once your champion has stepped forward so they can stay in touch.
You can also learn more about creation care at the following websites:
Chartered Committee on Environmental Ministry
Includes information on the Creation Care Program as well as the Green Grant Program, a diocesan grant awarded to churches within the diocese looking to make facility improvements to reduce the consumption of energy or other natural resources required to operate church facilities.
NC Interfaith Power & Light
Information and checklists and other resources for energy audits and myriad other topics relating to climate change and environmental justice.
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