If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than sorrow, we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology. We must also leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created, not just as it looked when we got through with it.
--Lyndon B. Johnson

This year marks Earth Day’s 40th birthday, and Texas Impact staff will be at events throughout the state in April to celebrate! Listed below are some of the events that we plan to attend and we hope you will stop by to say hello. We’ll have information and resources on hand to help you and your congregation better care for creation.  We'll also have a friendly Texas smile waiting for you.

Here’s a fun idea for celebrating Earth Day: look through your old pictures of outdoor fun in Texas and send us a copy of your favorite photo for our Deep In My Heart Project.  We’re receiving some really great pictures of Texas and Texans, and can’t wait to see yours. The photos will be displayed in the Capitol building for the start of the 2011 legislative session as a tangible reminder of our love for this part of creation.

Upcoming Events:

Is your congregation planning an Earth Day event? We’d love to hear about it! You can comment on this story below, or send us an email with the details.

More Events around the State:

  • Austin Heights Baptist Church Earth Care Ministry is hosting a free screening of the film: Food, Inc. at the Cole Art Center @ the Old Opera House in Nacogdoches, TX on Thursday April 22 at 6:30 p.m. with a panel discussion to follow the film. Healthy snacks will be served.

  • Friday, April 23rd, the First Presbyterian Church, Kerrville is hosting a concert in celebration of Earth Day--it will feature several choirs and instrumentalists from the community performing music in praise of God's Creation.

Hey Austin, the City's Climate Protection Team wants you to "bang the table" at their new online community forum. Help guide the decisions that will help Austin meet its climate protection goals at http://bangthetable.com/austinclimate?module=forum

Residents of North Texas will soon have a new option to install PV solar panels on their homes without paying thousands of dollars up-front for installation! TXU and Solar City have teamed up to provide a plan whereby homeowners lease solar panels for 15 years. The program provides many of the benefits of PV solar – including greater climate stewardship, security against volatile electricity prices, and stimulating growth of the green energy economy in Texas – without the daunting up-front costs of purchasing and installing the panels.
 
Unfortunately, with the way the plan is structured now, it is not available for houses of worship or other nonprofits. If your house of worship is interested in installing a PV solar array, be sure to read the Texas Impact/ Texas Interfaith Power & Light publication Going Solar: A Congregational Guide to Photovoltaic Solar Energy!
 
The TXU-Solar City program costs approximately $35 per month for a 4kw system, which Solar City has estimated could reduce the electric bill for a 3 or 4 bedroom home by 15-20 percent. The monthly rate rises 2.5 percent per year, far less than the nearly 3.5 percent average increase in residential electricity prices in Texas over the last 15 years.* At the end of the lease, the homeowner has the option to buy the system, renew the lease, upgrade with a newer system, or simply have the panels removed. Homeowners do not have to be TXU customers to participate in the program, but they do need to live in the Oncor service area.
 
For more information, read the article "Get solar panels installed for free through TXU program" in the Forth Worth Star Telegram.
 

* From 1995 to 2009, the average residential price of electricity in Texas rose from 7.71 cents/kwh to 12.9 cents/kwh, an average annual increase of over 3.49%. Energy Information Agency Electric Power Annual 2007. State Data Tables 1990-2007.
 

This February, join with clergy across the country in calling for more love for the planet! Interfaith Power and Light invites faith leaders to preach about global warming on Valentine’s Day weekend, February 13-14, 2010.  When you sign up online, you will receive lectionary resources and sample sermons to help you prepare.  Resources will be available for a number of different faith traditions.

Registered congregations will also receive Valentine’s Day postcards for members to send in to Senators, encouraging them to love their neighbors by passing a strong climate bill this year.  Click here to get more information and to register for the national preach-in.

(Photo "Earth From Space With Stars" by User DonkeyHotey used under a Creative Commons-Attribution-NonCommercial License.)

Medina will be the first Islamic city to go green, the Grand Mufti of Egypt has announced, as part of a seven year plan to make the religion more environmentally friendly.

Read the story

 

Energy Star(via ENERGY STAR Congregations Network E-Update)

This year, four congregations deserve congratulations and the spotlight for earning a 2009 ENERGY STAR Congregations Award in the annual nationwide competition. Winners are recognized for doing their part to save energy and fight climate change through effective energy management practices and innovative efficiency solutions.

Together, these award winning organizations reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions equal to those from the average electricity use of nearly 1000 homes for one year and saved more than $700,000 in annual energy costs.

This year's winners shared some common activities such as their use of EPA's free energy tracking tool, Portfolio Manager to track their energy use and the associated greenhouse gas emissions, set targets for investment priorities, and verify efficiency improvements. Congregations now can use Portfolio Manager to receive an energy performance rating, and the most energy efficient among them can earn the ENERGY STAR label.

Winners also relied on the ENERGY STAR Congregations Guide "Putting Energy Into Stewardship." The guide can help launch a congregation on the road to energy savings with Sure Savers and other features.

Read on for brief profiles of this year's winners. Complete profiles can be viewed on the ENERGY STAR congregations web page.

 

2009 Winners List

Austin resident and Deep Conversion Communications founder, Elizabeth Freese, won the Franciscan Philanthropist Award in Earth Ministry’s national Care for Creation Sermon Contest, held at University Lutheran Church in Seattle on September 27, 2009. Freese's sermon, "The Irresistable Sustainable Future," generated the greatest donations at the fundraising event. The full press release is available on the Deep Conversation Communications website.

 

"If there is to be any life going forward, its “chief cornerstone” will necessarily be the principles of mutual, caring community that Jesus and his followers stood up for and celebrated, even as the cross loomed. In our confrontation with ecosystem limits, these are the only principles which enable sustainable life, and so it is no accident that the essence of the current global movement for eco/social justice is hauntingly similar to that of the kindom inaugurated by Jesus long ago." 
- Elizabeth Freese, "The Irresistable Sustainable Future"

 

Congratulations, Ms. Freese!

St. Francis PledgeFeast of St. Francis Is Opportunity to Promote Action on Climate Change

The Franciscan Action Network (FAN) and the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change are encouraging Catholics to celebrate the Feast of St. Francis this October 4th by taking the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor.

Click here for resources, including a bulletin insert, poster, prayers, homily suggestions, quotes from the Pope and the Church on climate change, and clip art.

Click here to sign up for a free webinar to learn more about a Catholic approach to climate change.  The webinar, called “Care for Creation National Web Summit,” will be offered by FAN on October 15 (8-10 p.m. eastern time) as a free live webcast of streaming video.

Click here to take the St. Francis Pledge and to get more information about how you can get involved.

Texas Impact is thrilled to announce that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has introduced the new ENERGY STAR for Congregations! This is a transformational step in improving collaboration between the EPA and houses of worship to help Congregations save up to 30% on their energy bills and protect the Creation.
If America's more than 370,000 houses of worship cut energy use by 10% (a tithe!) ...

  • Nearly $200 million would be saved for congregations' missions and ministry.
  • More than 5.4 billion kWh of electricity would be available without additional cost and pollution.
  • More than 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions would be prevented, equivalent to the emissions of about 400,000 cars, or to planting over a half million acres of trees.

ENERGY STAR will help Congregations invest strategically in efficient equipment, facility upgrades and maintenance. With free, unbiased information and technical support from ENERGY STAR, a Congregation can more easily improve stewardship of its budget's energy dollars, and of the earth by reducing energy waste and energy costs, while protecting the environment.
And the best news? EPA now has a Portfolio Manager for Congregations! This well-tested tool helps track, understand and improve the energy performance of your house of worship.
EPA is hosting 3 FREE Webinars in September: 9/17, 9/24 and 9/29, at 11:30 am ET/ 10:30 am CST
Who Should Attend a Webinar:
Those responsible for energy decisions in houses of worship. The purpose of this training is to provide users with a step-by-step understanding of Portfolio Manager. This tool will

  • Help benchmark current energy use
  • Track savings

With such knowledge congregations will be able to both identify beneficial energy improvements and save money and the Creation. Go to the Webinar Registration website to sign up today!

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