Rev. Millard Southern of Allen Chapel AME in Kalamazoo shares how his congregation has overcome challenges and is poised to take proactive steps towards environmental justice. We are thrilled to work with Allen Chapel AME and Rev. Southern as they participate in the Sacred Spaces program.

Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church is the oldest and first AME church in Kalamazoo, founded in 1855.

 The Rev. Dr. Yvette Griffin of Pilgrim Baptist Church in Detroit was recently able to share some of the great things happening at Pilgrim Baptist. Participation in the Sacred Spaces program has offered some new opportunities for this congregation!

 The Rev. Dr. Yvette Griffin of Pilgrim Baptist Church views air quality and environmental issues as critial factors for her Detroit community.

Detroit's  New Mount Hermon Missionary Baptist Church is a participant in the Sacred Spaces grant. We are glad to hear from Deacon Wilson Moore about the church, and its hopes for sustainable energy options.

New Mount Hermon Missionary Baptist Church: Aubrey Agee and Deacon Wilson Moore Jr.

Steve Wasko is the Program Director at St. Suzanne Our Lady Gate of Heaven in northwest Detroit's Cody Rouge neighborhood. He was recently able to share information on how St. Suzanne's serves its community, the parish focus on sustainability measures, and the benefit of funds received through the Sacred Spaces project.

The Blessing of the Rain Garden at St. Suzanne's is just one of the ways this Detroit parish shows focus on both environmental and spiritual practices

Detroit's busy Muslim Center is one of 11 congregations benefitting from participation in our Sacred Spaces project.

Here's what Executive Chairman Mark Crain had to say about the Muslim Center and its work, focus, and mission in Detroit.

The Muslim Center Mosque and Community Center is open nearly every day of the week serving the Detroit community.

First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor members Ruth Mohr and Sandy Simon present a Climate Hero Award to Ed Lynn in December 2022. Read more stories of Climate Heroes here.

When Don Levitt learned that over 50% of people in Washtenaw County "rarely or never" talked about the climate crisis (see the Yale Climate Opinion maps), he realized that he could do something to change that. 

With funds from Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), Michigan IPL offered a $500 gift to 3 houses of worship participating in our Energy Stewardship Webinar series.

Portage United Church of Christ (UCC) put this gift to work by replacing older, fluorescent tube lighting with bright, highly efficient LEDs! 

The Rev. Dr. Mary Kay Schueneman enjoys her brightly lit office at Portage UCC.

“I am so happy to have these new, bright LED lights in my office!  The previous lights had a yellow overcast that really dimmed the room; these have lightened my workspace. I’m also thankful that our congregation can be a part of faith communities’ efforts to care for our planet home. This is a small step, but a faithful one, and we hope it will continue us on our way.” – Rev. Dr. Mary Kay Schueneman

Michigan IPL to bring $1.1 million in energy efficiency improvements to 11 low-income congregations!  

The Sacred Spaces initiative is made possible by funds from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and World Renew. We are excited to be working with EcoWorks Detroit as our technical partner.  

Even as we've seen a growing number of Michigan congregations install solar and take meaningful steps to be better stewards of Earth by reducing their energy waste, it's clear that many more communities need dollars and support to make these improvements. 

Earlier this year, I was mistaken for someone famous. 

A restaurant worker approached me as I waited for lunch: “I just want you to know… I’m such a huge fan," she said, looking at my very intensely. "I love your work." 

For a split second there, I sure did think: “Whoa! Michigan IPL is so much higher profile than I realized! How amazing that our good work is being seen by the public and that faithful climate action is on their radar…” 

Look at our beautiful Board! 

Train children in the right way and when old, they will not stray. -Proverbs 6:22, The Green Bible

Me, my grandson J, and my husband/J's grandfather. 

I’m blessed to have six grandchildren who I love and adore. Two of them are athletes who entered college this August with full scholarships! I’m very proud of all of their accomplishments and grateful they have parents who are raising them with the Christian values our family shares: kindness, justice, and right relationship with others. 

I spoke with J, my eldest grandson, recently, in an effort to understand what young people think about voting. 

As we discussed his first voting experience, J mentioned that he voted in the August Primary because his parents asked him to... But he really didn’t know what he was doing. 

Joel Faber, Little Eden Facilities Manager, holds a new LED on the porch of one of the campground's cabins.

With 10 utility bills coming in every month, the operating costs of Little Eden Camp, located on the shores of Portage Lake in Onekama MI were astronomical. Currently covering 45 acres, this historic camp began in 1944 with a small group of men from Ohio stepping out in faith to purchase the then 10-acre property. Since that time, Little Eden’s footprint has grown, and the camp’s utility demands have grown along with it. Today there are over 45 structures at Little Eden; four of these are over 100 years old.

Visitors to Little Eden can easily see the reason for the name, but unlike its namesake, this Eden requires a great deal of effort to maintain and flourish. Creation care is at the heart of camp operations. Over the years, the staff has been very intentional at taking cost-effective measures to make Little Eden more energy efficient whenever the opportunity arose, however operating costs remained high.

Camp Director Wayne Faber learned about rebates for lighting through an email he had received from Michigan IPL, which provided the inspiration to proceed with the more substantial project of retrofitting 4 ft fluorescent tube lighting with T-LEDs.

A small army of volunteers worked together to retrofit the fixtures and install high-efficiency LEDs purchased through the Consumers Energy Instant Discount program.

The result? The camp's lights are brighter and eighty percent (80%) of project cost was covered by the rebates, and the camp's utilities bills reflect the difference. As great as that was, Little Eden was just getting started.

“Our desire is to continue to care for God’s Creation by being better stewards with our electricity consumption, reducing our impact on our world and in turn, saving the camp money on utility bills.”

- Wayne Faber, Camp Director

When the opportunity for a free Energy Assessment with a Consumers Energy Assessor came up, Wayne was glad to participate. The assessment involved a walkthrough of the entire property and free replacement of over 750 incandescent bulbs with 9-watt LEDs. Without the need to cover the purchase cost of these bulbs, it’s easy to see that Little Eden saved over $3,000 on just the bulbs alone.

In my hometown of Detroit, everything revolves around the automotive industry—the steel mills, the oil refinery, the plants that create the plastics and the parts to build our cars. Dubbed the "Motor City," the auto industry is woven into Detroit, for better – and for worse – to power American-made automobiles.

Raised as a lifelong Detroiter from zip code 48217, my roots connect back to the auto industry, too. Like many in my community, I worked in the auto industry as a tenured worker at General Motors (GM) for over 15 years.

Unbeknownst to me, as I played my small part in GM's success, my health was deteriorating both physically and mentally.

The dirty, gas-powered cars and trucks popularized by companies like GM pollute our air and greatly contribute to our growing climate crisis. In the United States, the transportation industry is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, so it comes as no surprise that 48217 is the most toxic zip code in Michigan. Air pollution is not only a contributing factor to climate change; it is a national public health concern.

When I left GM, I didn't set out to be an environmental advocate. I had been earning a middle-class living, but despite my experience and years of work, at the time, there was little opportunity to grow as a Black woman in the auto industry. I had to continue working in the plants, and eventually I was forced to leave because of my health.