This article appeared Feb. 25, 2009 in the McPherson Sentinel, and highlights the work of Kansas Interfaith Power and Light.
By Katie Stockstill, managing editor
McPherson, Kan. -
LINDSBORG- Of all the ways the public has been informed about being more eco-friendly, one place it hasn’t heard from is the church. Pastor Lynn Schlosser, with Bergthal Mennonite Church in Pawnee Rock, and Eileen Horn, with the Kansas Interfaith Power & Light, met with area ministers at Bethany College Wednesday to discuss how churches could promote eco-friendliness through scripture and example.
Noni Strand, Bethany College campus minister, said she heard about Horn while doing some research on the Land Institute’s Web site. After she spoke with Horn, she decided to sign up to be part of the Kansas Interfaith Power & Light program.
Horn suggested Strand include other faith leaders, so Strand organized the workshop to allow others to hear Horn’s message.
“I am thrilled at the turnout,” said Strand. “I am thrilled at the variety of people. To get a different group of people with a different group of energy across faith groups, I think, is so important because we are all pulling in the same direction.”
The event kicked off with a sermon and findings from Schlosser. She entwined scripture with scientific facts to show her audience of both young and old that the Bible asks them to not only be eco-friendly, but to also help others to be eco-friendly as well.
“Controversial predictions abound” Schlosser said. “There is no controversy, at least in the scientific community, about the fact that a lot of scary stuff is coming at us a lot faster than anyone expected. I pray we would have the will to make the changes, to make the sacrifices we need to make. If we do not have the will, then I pray God finds another way. Our hope is in God and we shall praise God for hope and strength.”
Horn began the second half of the presentation with a video, that delivered the message “love thy neighbor as thyself,” which suggested that people should be thinking about providing the next generation with the same quality of Earth as they would want provided to them. It also touched upon using the church as an example of what people could do to give back to the environment.
“The church is a medium that hasn’t really been tapped yet,” said Schlosser. “There are religious people across the state, across the world, who feel passionately about creation and what’s happening. This taps into that passion in a unique way that hasn’t been done to this point.”
The video was followed by a discussion from the local pastors of all denominations, from Catholics and Jews to Mennonites and Muslims.
“All the major faiths have come out and made very powerful statements about the need to address climate change,” said Horn. “If there is a moral call to address climate change, we need to know how to make that change happen in our daily lives.”
The discussion that followed was made up of topics such as how to bring the environment up in a relevant way in scripture and what churches are doing to tackle environmental problems. There was also talk about how to get churches involved in teaching people to make lasting changes in their lives which will help improve the environment.
Fr. Laird MacGregor of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in McPherson said he found a lot of value in the discussions and hearing how other churches are approaching the environmental subject.
“I always look forward for opportunities to meet with other churches,” said MacGregor. “It gets you into a comfort zone because you get out of the real small context of the church and you share ideas.”
Rev. Harry Grinstad of New Gottland Lutheran Church in McPherson concurred with MacGregor and added that he felt that though his church has made strides to go green in the past, but is always looking for new ideas.
“I am aware of a number of places that our congregation could make improvements,” said Grinstad. “We have made some, we have installed compact florescent lighting in most of the fixtures in the sanctuary, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. I came out here to get some ideas of what other folks are doing and also to find some ways of talking about energy stewardship with the congregation in a way that they will accept it readily.”