A Solar Story
By Dale Goodman, Decorah, IA In the summer of 2014, I was outside building a retaining wall while Decorah Electric was installing a solar array across the street on the roof of First Lutheran Church. I paused and watched frequently. My wife, Susan, and I...
Eden Once Again
By Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz, Agudas Achim Congregation, Coralville, Iowa It all makes sense now. It’s winter, the snow is a foot deep and my husband and I are thankful for our four-wheel drive. The car starts without a hitch and ploughs through the snow accumulated on...
Iowa IPL Names New Director
Iowa Interfaith Power & Light (Iowa IPL) has named Matt Russell, a sustainable agriculture leader at the Drake University Agricultural Law Center, as its new executive director. Russell, a farmer and outspoken advocate for finding solutions to climate change, will...
Iowa Success Stories
Urbandale UCC voted to take the first step of the Paris Pledge, committing to reduce the carbon pollution from its church building by 50 percent by 2030. It is the first congregation in central Iowa, and the first UCC church in Iowa to take this action. “Our church wants to make a public witness that the earth is God’s and the fullness thereof,” said church moderator Tom Rendon, echoing lines from Psalm 24. “We, as Christians, have a moral responsibility to those affected by rising sea levels and by the extremes of climate change – such as floods and forest fires. This is a religious act.”
Urbandale United Church of ChristSt. Luke’s United Methodist Church has their fingers in the soil of two amazing garden projects to benefit the food insecure. Their church garden is located on Mary Purdy’s rural acreage. Mary is a member of St. Luke’s and helps tend the 5,000 square foot plot that has produced between 2,000 and 3,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables every year since 2010. St. Luke’s also a sponsors a wading pool garden project where they provide members of their community with a plastic wading pool, soil, seeds, plants, a trowels, and education on how to maintain the garden.
St. Luke’s United Methodist ChurchAmericans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam coffee cups every year! Metro Community Church made the sustainable switch to reusable coffee mugs in order to better care for creation. “God expects us to be good stewards of all of our resources,” says Pastor Rich Hendricks. When the congregation moved into their new building they decided they wanted to make their facility as environmentally responsible as possible within their budget. Along with making the switch to reusable coffee cups, they upgraded to a new, more efficient heating system and improved their lighting.
Metro Community Church