Kim Hornung-Marcy

July 01, 2022

The New England Conference now has a creation care webpage: www.neumc.org/creationcare

Advocacy and Information 

Scroll down and you will find suggestions on how to advocate at your local, state, and national level for better climate policy. You will also find many United Methodist resources from our boards and agencies. 
 
Prevention and mitigation of climate change honors our faith values and saves us all money while preserving life as we know it. Implementing good policy is key. If you are wondering where the young people are check out a local climate group and build good will as you make new friends.

Links to sites that help you

On the right side of the first page is a list of our New England states. These links take you to all the state level websites, and some nonprofits that help you help the earth, and save money by weatherizing your home, using greener appliances, considering an electric vehicle, and lots more. There are rebates for everyone and FREE programs for those who qualify by income.  

How can you use this information? 

1. Dedicate yourself to looking at these resources every time you need to replace something in your home such as an appliance or a heating system or even a car. These programs also have DIY weatherization projects. For example, this article from Efficiency Vermont (with short videos): “9 DIY projects to help you keep warm this winter”


2. Do you qualify by income for the free programs? Most are now enriched with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money, so now is the time to sign up! Check your state programs for who qualifies.


3. Does your church have a food shelf, rummage sale, or other event where you can help advertise these services to those who may qualify? These programs that help individuals help the larger community as well. Weatherization and energy efficiency means we lower our demands for electricity. This reduces the need to build out grids, it also means we lower emissions and pollution which helps everyone.  My local church gave out this information at our Trunk or Treat Event last Halloween. The kids got candy, the parents got money saving, creation-saving information — and every single family thanked us for the information!


4. Is your congregation considering doing an energy audit for the church or parsonage, and looking for funds to tackle energy efficiency projects? Interfaith Power and Light is a non-profit that is focused on helping houses of worship or parsonages go green.  If you are in Vermont, New Hampshire, or Massachusetts, you have an active state level group eager to help you fund these projects with grants.  If you are in Maine, Rhode Island, or Connecticut — folks at the Mass. Interfaith Power and Light have said they are happy to help answer your questions.  Contact information is on your state link of the Conference creation care page!