SOLI/Update

First Unitarian Universalist Church in Austin, Texas, saved $3,226 in electricity and used 290,000 fewer gallons of water last year by installing energy-efficient lighting and water-saving devices in its building.

"We were just looking at everything we were doing, finding how we could lessen our footprint on the planet in every conceivable way," Cathy Cramer said in an Austin Chronicle article. She chairs the committee that led the effort, which is part of her denomination’s “Green Sanctuary” program. And the Unitarians are not alone.

Various churches in Maine banded together five years ago to form Maine Interfaith Power & Light, which supports biomass, wind and other renewable energy sources. Faith communities in other states have formed similar enterprises. Today Maine Interfaith serves thousands of customers, and in the process sends a powerful message.

"We hear this little buzz: ‘There's something going on in the faith community,’ ” Maine Interfaith director Christine James told the Bangor Daily News. (See Gleanings for stories of other energy-saving congregations, and the resource below on the Energy Star program to learn how churches can get started.)

Saving energy will likely become more important as the cost of fossil fuel soars, but much more is at stake than energy bills.

Reducing electricity usage decreases the need for power plants to burn fossil fuels, which in turn cuts greenhouse gas emissions. The world’s scientists have reached a consensus that the earth is warming and that fossil fuel burning is a leading factor. Yes, there are some dissenting scientists, but they are very, very much in the minority.

Climate change is disrupting the fragile cycles of rainfall, migration, seasons, the food chain and other processes that have remained relatively stable and sustained plants and animals for centuries. With global warming may come death and starvation on a planetary scale.

So conserving energy may not be just a measure to save money in the church budget, but something we all must do to preserve life on God’s earth. Will your church help lead the way?

Become an 'Energy Star' Congregation
Churches can save 30 percent on their energy bills, and for most houses of worship that means a lot of money freed up for mission, maintenance -- or maybe the pastor's salary package. Energy Star, a government initiative, estimates that the nation's houses of worship collectively could reduce electricity usage by 13.5 billion kWh, prevent 5 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere and in the process save $500 million.

Click here for the Energy Star page on congregations. The page offers a ton of thought-provoking and inspirational resources.

Click here "Putting Energy Into Stewardship," an 86-page guide for churches.

Christianity and Ecology:
Wholeness, Respect, Justice, Sustainability

Here is a provocative essay from Harvard University’s Forum on Religion and Environment that frames the issue nicely: "Increasing numbers of Christian theologians and ethicists are responding to the environmental challenge as the world gets hotter, stormier, unequal, crowded, more violent, and less biodiverse. In this pivotal time, what do Christian ecotheology and ethics contribute to the struggle to secure the earth community’s well-being?" Click here for the essay. While you’re on the page, cruise through some of the other worthwhile links on religion and ecology, including course outlines.

Proclaim, celebrate God's creation
"Many of us living in such insular environments. It’s easy to forget that the Earth and all its wonder and complexity are the handiwork of our creator God who appointed us as the stewards. That’s why now, at the beginning of the third millennium, we especially need the church to remind us of these truths. This year, please consider doing something for Earth Day Sunday at your church on April 24, or for Rogation Sunday on May 1. " Click here for this column by SOLI webmaster Rob Blezard, from last week’s SOLI/Update, our free email newsletter, which includes links to all the new weekly resources. Click here to Subscribe.

Ecology and Economy

In this talk, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams explores the sometimes-tense relationship between ecology and economy: "It has been said that 'the economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment.' The earth itself is what ultimately controls economic activity because it is the source of the materials upon which economic activity works." Click here for the talk.

Giving is an indicator of conviction

"Some people have that problem with things other than food. They shop just to shop. They watch shopping shows or even just commercials so that they can find things to want. Things they know they don't need and wonder what to do with when they get them home." Click here for the Rev. Dana Reardon's weekly column on stewardship.

Journey Between Worlds:
Economic Globalization and Luther's God Indwelling Creation
Our created environment and livelihood of billions face unprecedented peril from economic globalization. As stewards of God's world, what are we to think? In her article in the Journal of Lutheran Ethics, Cynthia Moe-Lobeda finds insights from Luther's theology. "The presence of God taking bodily form in 'our' many forms suggests a web of connectedness pregnant with implications for both moral obligation and moral-spiritual power." Click here for Moe-Lobeda's article.

www.stewardshipoflife.org