In the words of the Evangelical Environmental Network (ENN) – What Would Jesus Drive?
Good question! And a great conversation starter. ENN is one of the many groups now exploring the links between faith and environment (check CEP’s handout for others). ENN has declared their moral obligation to reduce global warming pollution, and taken a pledge to do so by making smart transportation choices.
All across the U.S., religious communities are speaking out about the care of creation. In particular, they are addressing the climate crisis, and its potentially severe environmental, social, moral, economic and spiritual consequences. These groups have begun to speak out about stewardship, and the moral imperative to care for the world’s poor and vulnerable who will be most adversely affected by climate change.
At the Climate and Energy Project, these are the kind of conversations we like to help get started. Partnering with faith groups provides a great opportunity for CEP to do what we love best: Fostering creative and respectful conversations about climate change among concerned Kansans.
CEP’s newest outreach program, a Kansas chapter of Interfaith Power and Light, aims to connect Kansans with the information and tools necessary to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of their places of worship. By providing low-cost energy audits for congregations, partnerships with energy performance contractors, monitoring of GHG reductions achieved, and educational outreach to individual members, CEP hopes to both reduce total GHG emissions from congregations and allow Kansans an opportunity to put their faith into action.
To launch the Kansas Chapter, CEP is working with Kansas and Missouri-based interfaith environmental groups and the national chapter of Interfaith Power and Light (IPL), a nationwide campaign to mobilize a religious response to climate change.
With 26 states and 4,000 congregations already participating, Interfaith Power and Light has helped congregations and individuals reduce their carbon footprint through energy efficiency, renewable energy, and conservation. Some of our favorite successful programs are the California Interfaith Power and Light Program and the Iowa Interfaith Power and Light, which have reduced CO2 emissions in their congregations by 20 million pounds.
Envisioning and planning the Kansas IPL has been inspiring! We’ve met some great local faith groups who are working to foster individual and collective action on climate change. The Sustainable Sanctuary Coalition in Kansas City, MO, is an interfaith coalition which advocates sustainable living and ecological justice for all creation. We’ve also met with the Trinity Environmental Stewardship Team in Lawrence, St. Andrew’s Group for Ecology in Overland Park, and the Grassroots Environmental Action Team in Pawnee Rock. All are working on raising awareness of climate change issues in their congregations!
Concerns about creation are not limited to religious communities. In all of CEP’s conversations with Kansans about climate change, many tell us that they’ve switched to a low-carbon lifestyle because, “it’s the right thing to do” or because they believe that prudence and “not wasting what we’ve been given” is an important moral value.
Creating a Kansas chapter of Interfaith Power and Light will require input from people from all faith backgrounds, and from all parts of the state. Please consider talking with your faith leader and members of your congregation about the moral responsibility of addressing climate change.
We can do this. Let’s put our faith into action on climate change.
For more information, or to become one of the inaugural Kansas IPL congregations, please contact:
Eileen Horn, horn@climateandenergy.org
— Eileen Horn, www.climateandenergy.org
More links of interest:
National Religious Partnership for the Environment
Catholic Coalition on Climate Change
Evangelical Climate Initiative
Eco-Justice Ministries
CEP’s Interview with pastor Thad Holcomb on the interfaith nature of creation care
