Environmental Working Group

Being good stewards of care and creation.

The Environmental Concerns Working Group (ECWG) offers resources for our synod’s congregations to address environmental issues. Read about our recent projects below:

Synod Passes Ambitious Climate Action Plan

On June 5, 2009, the synod assembly overwhelmingly passed a plan to reduce the synod’s contributions to climate change 17% by 2017, and become better stewards of God’s creation.

Thanks to the year-long efforts of a synod task force led by Faith in Place (an interfaith environmental non-profit based in Chicago), the synod’s Environmental Concerns Working Group, and a dozen church leaders, synod churches can learn from other congregations that have pioneered the way, use tools to identify the best steps for their churches, and find resources to make it possible.

So what are the five steps to become a Cool Lutheran? 

1. Gather a team at your church. Involve people who know your church building well, along with lay leaders, your pastor, and office and building maintenance staff.
2. Calculate your church’s carbon footprint at www.CoolCongregations.com. [A carbon footprint is the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by your church.] This Web site was designed by Interfaith Power & Light specifically for houses of worship. Once you’ve gathered the necessary documents, it will take less than 30 minutes to input it online and you will instantly receive your footprint. Multiply that by 17% to get your 7-year goal.
3. Identify carbon-saving actions that make sense at your church by working through the Energy Audit for Sanctuaries created by the synod’s task force. You can download it on the Faith in Place Web site here: Carbon Action Checklist. This is best done when your whole team is assembled, and will take 60-90 minutes to answer the questions and prioritize your next steps.
4. Make changes to reduce your carbon footprint by following the suggested actions in the Energy Audit for Sanctuaries. Many of these are free or low-cost. Others will require purchases, but there are notes on how to buy those items for less. The suggested actions with a star next to them provide some of the biggest carbon savings possible.   
5. Add this effort to your annual meeting agenda now and each year through 2017. Each year you can measure your footprint at www.CoolCongregations.com, report it to the congregation, and celebrate the progress you have made - along with how much further you have to go.

For more information, or help along the way, contact Sara Spoonheim at Faith in Place (312-733-4640) or Jim Schwab from the synod’s Environmental Concerns Working Group (773-384-4754).

Thank you to the eight churches that served as guinea pigs and trendsetters: Bethel Lutheran of Chicago, Immanuel Lutheran of Chicago, Irving Park Lutheran of Chicago, St. Paul Lutheran of Wheaton, Ascension Lutheran of Riverside, Zion Lutheran of Tinley Park, Lake View Lutheran of Chicago, and Grace Lutheran of Evanston. And a very special thank you to task force members: Rachelle Ankney, Juliana Glassco, David Glover, Mark Granfors, Kris Kaar, Jim Mastaler-Gutermuth, the Rev. Brooke Petersen, Nicolai Schousboe, James Schwab, Sara Spoonheim, and Ken Westlake.

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