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.

Don't wait to access energy savings and efficiency options for your community of faith! Put your faith into action and take steps today that will benefit for your congregation and creation tomorrow!

Top projects to complete to move forward with energy efficiency

1.  Lighting projects pay for themselves in a year or two and result in huge savings. Aside from changing out incandescents for LEDs or fluorescents for T-LEDs, consider motion sensors.    
2.  Weatherization such as caulking and air sealing is relatively low-cost and can reduce drafts, improving the comfort in your building, and reduce heating costs 10 to 25 percent.
3.  HVAC projects take planning and an investment but result in long term benefits. However, maintenance like a boiler tune-up can reap savings with relatively low investment. 
4.  Wi-Fi thermostats can be controlled remotely from your smart phone. 

Lower project costs and increase energy efficiency with these suggestions

University Lutheran Church, East Lansing accessed huge savings by connecting to their utility provider's savings programs!

Each congregation should speak with their accounting professional when applying for Direct Pay, (Elective Pay) especially when considering inclusion of roof or other costs. Learn about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and how Direct Pay can help your congregation to recoup efficiency related expenses.

St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Detroit's diocese was very open to providing funding for a window project that they otherwise would not have been able to do.  As a result, the congregation has been better equipped to create revenue by renting space with an impoved building envelope.

Education and Inspiration for Congregational Energy Efficiency  

Watch our Energy Stewardship Webinar  In this webinar, you will learn: where to start in your energy saving journey how to access discounts and rebates offered by your utility of inspiring examples of faith communities who have put faith into action with energy stewardship

Check out other past webinars:

How Royal Oak First United Methodist Church renovated their historic building for energy efficiency and solar 

How Victorious Believers Ministries (Saginaw) used Consumers Energy rebates to upgrade their parking lot lighting and in the gymnasium with high-efficiency LEDs and how they plan to upgrade the lighting in the sanctuary.

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.

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

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

Hope for Creation made and distributed hundreds of Earth Day kits for Kids in 2020.

Hope for Creation volunteers at the City of Kalamazoo's first polystyrene recycling drop-off in 2021.

Michigan IPL has a Southwest MI regional chapter: Hope for Creation!  Hope for Creation is a grassroots inter-religious group working to encourage and support faith-based action on climate change in greater Kalamazoo.

Getting involved in Hope for Creation connects you (and your congregation or faith-based organization) with others across the region and is a symbol of your congregation’s commitment to Earth stewardship and climate action.

What are the benefits of being part of Hope for Creation?

• Information and support for reducing your carbon footprint through energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other sustainable practices. 
• Connections with technical experts, peer communities, and relevant programs.
• Guidance on starting and maintaining a congregational Green/Justice Team.
• Up-to-date information about issues that affect the health of our communities and our common home, along with opportunities to advocate for systemic change.
• Avenues to celebrate and promote the ways your house of worship has sustained the earth and to contribute to shared local conservation and sustainability efforts.
• Opportunities to work with, worship with, and advocate alongside other people of faith who are champions of Earth stewardship in their congregations and in the public sphere.

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