Ed Cohen found himself preaching to the choir — a fairly small one at that. The longtime Indy crusader for energy conservation sought to take his message to a larger audience. Along the way, he found religion.

But not necessarily the kind his mother might have hoped for. Defining his religious affiliation as “born into a Jewish family,” Cohen began reaching out, not only to rabbis, but also priests, reverends, nuns, monks and imams in the late ’90s to share his conviction that Earth stewardship is a religious imperative. “I saw that care for this created world was part of every religious faith,” he reflects, “but it seemed to be largely ignored.” 

Cohen is one of the early activists in Indiana who recognized the power of a faith-based environmental movement. In a state in which 40.3 percent of the residents are affiliated with a faith congregation — a statistic that mirrors national figures — that could convert into a hefty support base.

Over the last decade, the efforts to bring religion into the climate-change conversation have been fruitful, and the ranks of faith advocates have multiplied. Today, not only are proactive congregations growing in number, they’re teaming up with other faith communities and generating enough zeal that Indiana’s infant interfaith resource is finding itself quite busy.

Hoosier Interfaith Power & Light (HIPL) introduced itself to the faith community in March 2011. As a state affiliate of the national Interfaith Power & Light, HIPL works to empower religious institutions to respond to climate change through a prism of faith.

The well-attended kickoff, held at First Baptist Church in Indianapolis, drew about 200 attendees to hear denominational faith statements and participate in a colorful and ecumenical service. Clergy and lay leaders represented 19 faiths, including Christians, Catholics, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and Unitarians.

In the beginning …

The HIPL creation story involves a host of organizations, congregations and individuals. The “begats” started more than 10 years ago. The movement might have technically kicked off in 2001. Indiana was one of 18 states that received a grant from the National Council of Churches’ Interfaith Climate Change Campaign. The Church Federation of Greater Indianapolis managed the program, which was well received by local clergy. But when the grant money ran out a couple of years later, the initiative dissolved.

Cohen, who’d been active in that effort, then directed his energies into Interfaith Alliance of Indianapolis. By 2005, he’d proposed, launched, and accepted leadership of IA’s Care for Creation committee.

While Cohen was spreading his gospel of green, Jodi Perras, inspired by an Indianapolis Spirit & Place event in 2005, brought green activism to Epworth United Methodist Church. “I took ideas from the program to my church and talked to staff and the pastor,” Perras says. In short order an active green team, which Perras chairs, was formed. “I felt an overwhelming amount of support from my own congregation.”

Before long, the team had instituted changes as small as eliminating Styrofoam coffee cups to conducting a complete energy audit of all church-owned structures and making major improvements to cut energy use.

Finding Common Ground

Throughout the faith community in Indianapolis, similar congregational green teams were forming — and reaching out to each other. By 2007, several, including Epworth, Unitarian Universal Church of Indianapolis, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Christ the King Catholic Church, and First Mennonite Church had united as the Green Congregations Task Force.

Meanwhile, in Bloomington, representatives of eight faith communities established Earth Care. Madeline (Madi) Hirschland, HIPL board vice chair [see Hirschland’s essay elsewhere in this issue], is one of the Earth Care founders. “All of our faiths talk about the concept of caring for creation,” says Hirschland, a member of Congregation Beth Shalom. “So faith seems an obvious place from which to respond to climate change. The issue can be politically charged. But when faith communities address it, they talk above it. They transcend politics.”

Eventually, the groups from Indy and Bloomington — representing about 25 congregations — connected, and ultimately agreed that affiliating with a national interfaith organization would further strengthen their efforts. In 2009, HIPL became the 38^th affiliate of Interfaith Power & Light.

Task of the month

While not its primary focus, HIPL advocates on issues connected to climate change and energy use. “We are absolutely focused on reducing our carbon footprint,” says Rev. Dr. Lyle McKee, HIPL board chair. McKee, the pastor of St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bloomington and a founding member of Earth Care, notes that HIPL is calling for a shift away from coal, with the target of reducing coal-fueled households by one-eighth percent in the next three years.

McKee and other board members will tell you that HIPL is not a leader of, or a substitute for, local interfaith bodies. It is a facilitator and resource for creation care groups throughout the state.

“We don’t want to be centralized,” Hirschland says. “We want to ignite interest, and give communities help when they reach out. We have the resources for virtual libraries — there’s even a set of sermons available. When people see that all the pieces have been put in place, it’s easier to commit.”

HIPL offers workshops to assist in forming congregational green teams and interfaith groups, a film library, a manual on managing energy-saving projects for building committees — a checklist that helps determine the cost, savings, and payback period for energy improvements, and a website with a do-it-yourself carbon calculator.

HIPL’s Seventh Day Initiative challenges congregations to cut their energy use by one-seventh. Its solar leadership initiative provides support materials for groups that want to organize their own solar leadership forums.

The Task of the Month toolkit appears to be in hot demand — some 80 congregations now have the 12-month program that tackles one energy-reducing behavior per month. Dr. Stephanie Kimball developed the toolkit and is HIPL program manager. “The toolkit was designed to help members think about their own use of creation's resources in terms of their faith's call to stewardship, and to take action to cut waste,” Kimball says.

Congregations like Task of the Month for a few reasons. It’s simple to achieve, and participants working on the same task can offer one another support. Kimball says there’s a collective sense of success — and awareness that “Each household’s efforts are magnified by the fact that others are also taking each step. They have sense of hope and purpose, and they realize they are not in this struggle alone.”

The availability of the Task of the Month toolkit and others seems to have encouraged interfaith group development in cities including West Lafayette, Richmond, Evansville, Terre Haute, and Muncie.

“I was green with envy over the things they were doing,” says Jennifer Rice-Snow, a congregant at United Methodist Church in Muncie. “They showed the power of working together.” Muncie’s first interfaith meeting attracted 17 people from eight faith communities, including Muslim and Baha’i, Lutheran, Unitarian, Jewish, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Catholic. “Everyone was really impressed when we read our faith statements. It almost felt like a worship moment, even though we come from different traditions.”

Dominion — or domination?

McKee concedes there are devoted souls, congregations, and even a few denominations that don’t see the connection between God and Green. “Many people of faith may have interpreted religious scripture as unsupportive of environmental activity. They’re mistaking ‘dominion’ with ‘domination.’  We need to reach those who are misinformed,” McKee says.

McKee, who has been “preaching and teaching” environmental stewardship for a long time, affirms that the science behind climate change is sound, but his approach is theological and not scientific. He directs parishioners to biblical passages that support creation care. “Everything created is holy. We take these passages very seriously,” McKee says.

While her congregation has embraced creation care, Perras concedes that not all parishioners are on board. Some, she says, express their disagreement vocally, others just shake their heads. One member, she recounts, refused to pay assessments that would cover some energy-conserving building renovations. She has also been accused of supporting “a bunch of environmentalists using religion to achieve their aims.”

“I have been a person of faith for much longer than I’ve been a green advocate,” Perras says. “But in both, I felt the call to stewardship of creation, and am connected to the environment through faith perspective.”

Perras has suggestions for how to approach green activism among resistant congregations. “Start with things that everyone can support — energy efficiency, recycling, a community garden,” she says. She recounts successful efforts including a second-hand fashion show, a community garden and dinner featuring local food, and a film series. The lineup included An Inconvenient Truth, Who Killed the Electric Car, and other films that increased environmental awareness and stimulated discussion. “Emphasizing things everyone could agree with helped us gain community support, and then we were in a better position to talk about climate change,” Perras says.

By the time HIPL had established itself, Ed Cohen had moved from Indiana. But he still shares in the sense of accomplishment with the others. “The fact that such an entity exists is wonderful because it now gives every person of faith, every congregation, a place where they can learn, get energized, and turn back to their own community and begin the work that needs to be done,” he says.

For more information

Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light, hoosieripl.org

Interfaith Power & Light, interfaithpowerandlight.org

Green Congregations, ike.roundtablelive.org

Earth Care, earthcareindiana.org