Options for getting your church green: Practical sustainable energy advice from a long-time Methodist

By RJ Walters, Editor

America is home to roughly five percent of the world’s population, but the country accounts for almost 25 percent of the world’s energy consumption according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Comparatively, China is home to over 20 percent of the world’s population but consumes just 13 percent of the energy used worldwide.

So what’s a church to do when considering this waste, all while worrying about tightening budgets, declining membership, and evolving and increasing social issues?

If you ask long-time Methodist Bruce Wheaton, the Residential & Commercial Programs Manager at Michigan Energy Options and member of University UMC in East Lansing, the answer is simple: follow the call of the UMC Book of Resolutions which says to be more aligned with natural resources, by getting informed, evaluating options and following through with plans.

As Wheaton is trying to convince people, becoming more energy efficient isn’t about understanding the complex science of things like biomass gasification and biorefinery technologies, it’s about committing to a change and finding people to educate church communities.

Recently Wheaton held a faith-based energy efficiency workshop for about 70 area church staff and facility managers in the Greater Lansing area and he’s at the forefront of trying to get churches and other non-profits and small businesses in the state to analyze their energy use.

Wheaton said it costs around $300 for an energy evaluation of non-profits up to 10,000 square feet and then another few cents per square foot up to 50,000

As for the basics of getting fit to go green there are a variety of things churches can do on their own to become community leaders of positive change.

Evaluating
Wheaton said the first step is as easy as spending a few hours going over what type of energy sources a church is using.

A good place to start is to look at energy consumption for the last 12 months and determine trends and areas of the largest use.

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Q&A with Faith Fowler: A greener perspective

When the phrases “green energy” and “committed Methodist” are used in the same sentence it is surprising if the name Faith Fowler isn’t coming next.

As the senior pastor of Cass Community UMC and the executive director of Cass Community Social Services in Detroit since 1994, she has redefined what it means to do community outreach and set precedents for how churches should become more energy efficient.

In the April 18 issue of the Detroit Free Press she was honored as one of Michigan’s finest green leaders, and as churches across the Detroit and West Michigan conferences start pursuing a greener existence Fowler is a voice of reason.

She helped create a sustainable business for the homeless by taking illegally dumped tires to produce rubber mats and she jumpstarted a number of recycling programs.

In January Cass opened a “green gym” that offers standard fitness equipment (weight machines, etc.), boxing bags, a treadmill, and 10 stationary bikes featuring Green Revolution technology allows them to generate electricity.

Editor RJ Walters recently talked with Fowler about her odyssey and tips for churches looking to get on board with the energy efficiency movement.

How does being in touch with the environment and renewable energy sources relate to the Christian faith and when did you start exploring “greener” options for Cass?

“I think it’s a great thing to preach, but if it doesn’t match your life your words are really hollow. We forever have been saying God created the heavens and the Earth, it’s right there at the beginning of the (creation) story. We started about five years ago because we have so many buildings and vehicles it became a naturally way to reduce costs as well as to respond to the planet being something God wants us to take care of.”

What steps did you take to get started?

“We did the self evaluations initially and we did the smaller stuff initially, like caulking, and changing light bulbs and inexpensive things first. You can start for less than $10. You can find people on staff, or in committees, or in a youth group that are interested in the planet and they can start to provide a grounds for people to realize it’s easy and good to reduce our carbon footprint. It doesn’t matter where or who the people are, they can get people excited to get the whole church involved”

The media has given a lot of coverage to several projects Cass has put into action. How did the “mud mats” business of taking old tires and creating rubber mats start up?

“It was about a $4,000 investment, which to start a new business is next to nothing. So we bought the equipment, installed it and we started the program (after having learned about it from a micro enterprise in Oklahoma). We saw that tires were a problem and could be an asset. They continue to be a problem because people illegally dump in the city — some people from the city, but many more not from the city — so there’s a constant flow of what we need for product, unfortunately. We’ve done more than 8,000 tires so far and there’s no end in sight.”

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