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! 

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.

Congregations that have participated in Light the Way, our energy efficiency for houses of worship program, may already be saving energy and money with free upgrades like LED lights. You've also received a report from Consumers Energy that outlines your facility's recommended next steps. This is your roadmap!  (If you need another copy of your Energy Assessment report, contact Jennifer at [email protected] or 248-463-8811.)

Because of state energy legislation, Michigan utilities are required to help their customers reduce their energy waste. That's why there are several ways to get discounts and rebates on energy saving projects. We are here to help you navigate these programs! 

New Hope Missionary Baptist Church's story Rev. Dr. Willie F. Casey, pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Saginaw, noticed the lighting in the sanctuary was dim and dingy and suspected that it needed cleaning. As he looked into, it he saw that the fixtures themselves had turned yellow. That prompted him to conduct an extensive replacement of the church’s lighting. The church replaced over 40 4-foot T12 fluorescent lights with high-efficiency LEDs and retrofitted the exterior lighting.   Consumers Energy's Instant Discount Program:  Saved the church 60% on the cost of the lights, which will yield immediate savings on energy bills Pastor Casey is saving on energy bills and says the new LEDs make the building feel fresh and bright: "It’s a whole different building inside and out. And beyond better illumination, it’s also about caring for God’s Creation."

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As 2021 draws to a close, I'm writing this to share with you where our issues stand and what I believe our movement of people of faith and conscience for climate justice must do next.  

The possibility of a world where all beings can thrive has taken some big hits recently.

The agreement coming out of COP 26—November’s global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland—has been called a “death sentence” for the poorest people on our planet. Our nation’s most ambitious investment in climate and communities to date, the Build Back Better Act, is now stalled in the Senate. Meanwhile, earlier this fall, a military budget that dwarfs any proposed climate spending was rubber stamped with bipartisan support and without fanfare.

Thousands of starlings move together as one before resting for the night. Scientists hypothesize that they may do this to confuse predators and minimize individual risk. 

At Haven House, every dollar saved on utilities can be put toward sheltering families and helping them on their paths toward stable homes. 

Founded in 1983, Haven House’s emergency shelter facility was built in the 1950s, which meant there were a lot of opportunities to improve improve comfort and efficiency and lower operating costs.  

If we can save money on our electric bill, then we can spend that money on helping our clients with moving costs.

Representatives from Michigan IPL, the Islamic Center of East Lansing, Haslett Community Church, and University Lutheran Church present Haven House with a donation of $5,500 to be used toward energy improvements. 

With a $5,500 donation from Haslett Community Church, University Lutheran Church, the Islamic Center of East Lansing, and Michigan IPL's Carbon Fund, Haven House made energy upgrades to its facility. They upgraded the lights in their emergency shelter to LEDs, installed energy efficient air conditioning, new windows, and additional insulation. 

I had never thought in depth about my relationship with nature or anything having to do with the environment until the summer of 2013.

At the time, I had just finished my second year of Rabbinic School and was spending the summer working as a Young Adult Interfaith Coordinator at the Chautauqua Institution, an education and arts community in southwestern New York state. Each week, we heard from speakers from around the country, who addressed themes from various religious and scientific perspectives. From clergy and scientists, we learned the creation stories of different cultures and about our roles at this point in the Universe’s history.

One idea changed the trajectory of my life: humanity’s resourcefulness, creativity, and wisdom have not only brought unimaginable blessings to the world, but these same strengths have made us so destructive to other species and our very own habitat that we are unleashing a global extinction.

At Sunnyside UMC, garden manager Rachelle Yeaman tells the story of the Growing Community Garden, a collaboration with Fresh Fire AME Church, as tour-goers gather under the welcome shade of a centrally located maple tree.

Recognizing that, in work at the intersection of racial and environmental justice, trusting and mutually beneficial relationships are key, Hope for Creation (MIIPL’s southwest Michigan affiliate) is building connections around shared interests in working the soil.

With the support of generous grants from the Congregation of St. Joseph and the Mesara Family Foundation, we are engaging master gardeners and other volunteers in our member congregations to develop partnerships in neighborhoods facing food insecurity, with the twin goals of expanding capacity to produce healthy food and safe neighborhoods and of building lasting healing relationships between people of faith from diverse communities. Our focus in 2021 is supporting collaboration in neighborhoods that are environmental hot-spots in Kalamazoo and fostering connections between established and emerging gardening efforts.

One of our goals for the Watershed Moment series is to get more faith communities talking about issues of water protection and water justice and to see these as core areas of concern that emerge from their holy texts. Click here to receive resources from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions to help you spark or deepen this conversation in your community:

We are grateful to our co-sponsors: People's Water Board Coalition, Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Movement, the Islamic Organization of North America, the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights, the National Wildlife Federation, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, Hazon Detroit, Brightmoor Connection, the American Human Rights Council, and the Land and Water Works Coalition. 

What is our response, as people from faith communities, to the challenges of climate change and racial injustice? Individually, our houses of worship have already begun to highlight a path to a renewable future. Together, we can do much more! 

Members of congregations from the Lansing area are joining together to promote transformative climate action in our community.

In 2022, the Lansing Area Chapter raised funds for a solar installation at the South Side Community Coalition. The array was installed in the spring and celebrated on Earth Day! Read more about that project here. 

In 2023, the group is raising money to fund the installation of a solar array for an all-electric home in a new affordable housing development not far from the South Side Community Coalition. 

The Capital Area Chapter's efforts currently involve members from the Presbyterian Church of Okemos, Haslett Community Church UCC, Edgewood United Church (E. Lansing), the Islamic Center of East Lansing, First Presbyterian Church of Lansing, Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing, All Saints Episcopal Church (E. Lansing), University Lutheran Church (E. Lansing), Kehillat Israel (Lansing), Community of Christ (Lansing), People's Church (E. Lansing), Faith Lutheran (Okemos), and Charlotte Congregational UCC. 

To make a donation to the Lansing Home Solar Project.

Contact David Arnosti ([email protected]) to join the email list and get involved!

Today, I spoke at an EPA hearing about the draft Clean Car standards proposed earlier this month. This is my testimony:

My name is Leah Wiste, and I’m the Executive Director of Michigan Interfaith Power & Light. We work with over 300 member congregations throughout the state, which comprise thousands of people of faith and conscience committed to bold climate action and protecting our communities.  Thank you for allowing me to offer testimony today.

When President Biden announced the draft tailpipe emissions standards earlier this month, Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee offered a strange kind of praise, saying “This is sort of a Goldilocks goal… Not too much, not too little. It’s just right.” But it’s clear that the time has passed for moderate, “not too much, not too little” policy.

At Sunnyside UMC, garden manager Rachelle Yeaman tells the story of the Growing Community Garden, a collaboration with Fresh Fire AME Church, as tour-goers gather under the welcome shade of a centrally located maple tree.

Recognizing that, in work at the intersection of racial and environmental justice, trusting and mutually beneficial relationships are key, Hope for Creation (MiIPL’s southwest Michigan affiliate) is building connections around shared interests in working the soil.

With the support of generous grants from the Congregation of St. Joseph and the Mesara Family Foundation, we are engaging master gardeners and other volunteers in our member congregations to develop partnerships in neighborhoods facing food insecurity, with the twin goals of expanding capacity to produce healthy food and safe neighborhoods and of building lasting healing relationships between people of faith from diverse communities. Our focus in 2021 is supporting collaboration in neighborhoods that are environmental hot-spots in Kalamazoo and fostering connections between established and emerging gardening efforts.

Cultivating Community
Posted by Joan Hawxhurst · July 15, 2021 9:49 AM · 1 reaction

Michigan Interfaith Power & Light is helping congregations who have already received a free Energy Analysis take the next steps in your energy stewardship journey: