There are many benefits to becoming a member of Michigan IPL. In addition to discounts on EnergyStar appliances and other green products and services, members also benefit from our knowledge, network, and other resources.

Whether you're interested in exercising Earth care, have a faith statement you'd like to tell us about, or simply want to add your voice to the interfaith sustainability movement, there is a place for you in our network.

Please contact us for more information, or become a Member Congregation by signing our Covenant.

Check out our Membership FAQs

We are currently working with 11 low-income congregations across Michigan to implement $1.1million ($100,000 each!) in energy-saving improvements. 

As we always say, congregations that spend LESS on energy get to spend MORE on their vital missions, while modeling the benefits of sustainability. We believe that these will be transformative investments, not only for these 11 congregations, but for the larger communities they serve.  

"The [energy] savings will allow us to do more for our community, seniors, and expand our programming to meet the needs of the community.” -Pastor Millard Southern, Allen Chapel AME, Kalamazoo

The 11 participating congregations are: 

• Allen Chapel AME Church, Kalamazoo
• Asbury United Methodist Church, Flint
• Greensky Hill Indian United Methodist Church, Charlevoix
• Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Chassell
• Muslim Center Mosque and Community Center, Detroit
• New Mount Hermon Baptist Church, Detroit
• Pilgrim Baptist Church, Detroit
• St. Luke CME Church, Saginaw
• St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Detroit
• St. Suzanne Our Lady Gate of Heaven Catholic Parish, Detroit
• Trinity Reformed Church, Grand Rapids

You can read more about Sacred Spaces on our blog, where we'll be profiling each of the congregations.  

The funds for these energy-saving projects come via the Michigan Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and World Renew. 

If your congregation wants to learn more about making energy upgrades to your facility, fill out the form below and a member of our staff will be in touch.

Celebrate with us! Recently our congregation took part in a free energy program through an organization called Michigan Interfaith Power & Light. As a result of this program, we are taking charge of our energy usage: lowering our energy bill and freeing up more of our budget for mission and ministry! It is a great responsibility to run our facility in a way that respects the needs of our climate and God’s Creation, and we are glad to let you know that through energy efficiency, we are making sure that our congregation is using resources as wisely as possible. We have great peace in knowing that we are doing our part to create a healthier, cleaner, and greener planet.

To learn more about faithful Earth stewardship and how you can help create a cleaner, healthier communities now and for future generations, sign up for Michigan Interfaith Power & Light’s monthly newsletter at www.miipl.org .

Our Board members aid in our mission by providing strategic guidance, ensuring proper governance, helping with outreach, and participating in and contributing to our fundraising efforts. If you or someone you know may be interested in participating on the Michigan IPL board, please contact us.

President The Rt. Rev. Rayford Ray Episcopal Diocese of Northern MI Marquette	Rev. Dr. Calvin Glass Lord of Lords Missionary Baptist Church Detroit	Bonnie Nussbaum, PhD Empowerment Coaching, LLC Appleton, WI
Thasin Sardar Islamic Center of E. Lansing E. Lansing	Rev. John Schleicher Bishop Emeritus, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Grand Ledge	Janet Stankowski, OP M. Div., D. Min Adrian Dominican Sister Livonia
Boratha Tan Senior Regulatory Manager, Vote Solar Ss. Peter and Paul Jesuit Church Detroit

The Carbon Fund was created-- thanks to generous ongoing support from the Ann Arbor Friends Meeting and others-- to provide mini-grants of $1-3,000 to economically disadvantaged communities to implement climate pollution-reducing projects. 

Supporting emissions-reducing projects in low-income/low-wealth communities and in communities of color is one way Michigan IPL seeks to center equity in climate action.

Eligible organizations:

• Are based in Michigan
• Own the building or site in which the project is being proposed
• Represent an economically disadvantaged community (e.g., a congregation whose members are predominantly people of color or low-income/low-wealth). Organizations that serve, but are not made up of, economically excluded community members are not likely to be selected to receive this grant.  

Applications must:

• describe a project you will carry out that reduces greenhouse gas emissions (e.g., energy-saving projects)
• include a clear and realistic budget (if the project requires the purchase of equipment, you know how much that equipment costs)
• demonstrate a readiness to expand the project's impact by using it to grow awareness about energy issues, the climate crisis, and/or our moral duty to care for the interconnected web of life
  
  

Past grants 

Our Carbon Fund has supported the installation of solar powered exterior lights at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Pilgrim Baptist Church (pictured above), and Lord of Lords Christian Ministries in Detroit. The Carbon Fund has also supported a solar streetlight and public high speed wifi project at Avalon Village in Highland Park. 

Other considerations

Projects that are high-visibility or that are integrated into programming or communications—in other words, projects that also inspire and grow awareness beyond your congregation—are especially encouraged.

How to contribute to the Carbon Fund

• Make a gift to the Carbon Fund online
• OR write "Carbon Fund" in the memo line on your check and mail it to us at: 1950 Trumbull St, Detroit MI 48216

Thank you!

	KaTania "Kat" Brown-Shepherd Operations Manager Kat is a freelance virtual assistant and founder of Virtually Possible 365. She left the corporate environment in 2019 to launch her business venture, which would allow her to use the skills and talents she has acquired over the past 30 years to help businesses, associations, and non-profit organizations achieve their goals.    She has a BA in Marketing and a BA in Healthcare Administration Management/Human Resources. She is a published children's book author.  When she is wearing a cape trying to save the world, she enjoys spending time with her husband and her rescue pup, Jett. She loves spending time near the water, listening to audiobooks, watching an interesting documentary, true crime, traveling, and seeing her best friends as often as possible. She is a native Detroiter. She believes the best thing about launching her business is the freedom to pick and choose her clients, so she was eager to join the team.  Working for a purpose.
	Raúl Echevarría Resilience and Advocacy Manager Raúl is a community development practitioner with more than 20 years of experience, primarily in Humboldt Park, a historical Puerto Rican community in Chicago, IL and, more recently, in the Latino community of Southwest Detroit. Raúl currently is contracted by the Michigan Roundtable for Just Communities to develop and facilitate community organizing trainings and assist in outreach to the Southwest Detroit community. Raúl is a student at Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit pursuing a Doctorate in Ministry degree. He successfully defended his dissertation in December 2025 and will graduate in June 2026. He approaches his work by uniting theories centered on community building/development with theologies based on the liberation of the oppressed, social justice and decolonization. Raúl reflects and expounds on this experience in community building as an Adjunct Faculty at the University of Detroit-Mercy, where he teaches in the Master of Community Development program in the School of Architecture and Community Development. Raúl has been married to Ana for 23 years, and they have two adult children, Nicholas and Jazzmin. Raúl resides in the Downriver City of Wyandotte, MI.
	Dawnesia Johnson-Garland Program Manager  Dawnesia enjoys mission and impact-driven work. She has over 20 years of experience in grant administration and non-profit leadership. MIIPL is a chance for her to truly put her faith into action and help to create a more equitable world. She is a proud alumna of Cass Technical High School and Michigan State University. She is a Fellow with Aspen Institute’s Workforce Leadership Academies. When Dawn is not working to uplift others, she is either shopping or spending time with family and friends. Or busy serving in her local Congregation.
	Nicky Marcot Communications and Special Projects Coordinator Nicky is a freelance strategist based in Detroit. She works with environmental and conservation nonprofits across southeast Michigan, providing strategic support with community engagement, operations, fundraising, and communications, advancing environmental protection and climate resilience. With over two decades of supporting nonprofits, her background includes urban education and grassroots nonprofit organizing.  She holds a BA in Secondary Education and English from the University of Detroit Mercy and an MA in Linguistics from Wayne State University. When she’s not working on environmental and climate issues, she’s tending her urban garden and homeschooling her three daughters on Detroit’s west side.
	Leah Wiste Executive Director Leah has been on staff at Michigan IPL since 2013 and has been the Executive Director since December 2018. She is deeply invested in advocating on behalf of our sacred, living Earth and all of its creatures. She identifies as a "seeker" and believes people of faith and conscience have a critical role to play in bringing us into the right relationship with the Earth and with each other. Leah has a BA in Women’s Studies from Carleton College and is ABD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California-Davis. When she’s not fighting climate change, she’s weeding the garden, buying more books than she will ever read, and trying not to get electrocuted while renovating her house in Detroit's North End.

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