With action steps such as conducting environmental audits of their facilities, encouraging a low carbon diet during Lent and developing a green action plan, Indianapolis congregations increasingly are engaging in environmentally friendly approaches.

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Members of First Mennonite Church, 4601 Knollton Road, create a wildlife prairie. Faith-based groups are taking part in a workshop Nov. 11 and 12 to learn how to make the most of their natural resources. PHOTO: Provided by First Mennonite Church

By being more responsible stewards of their property and their financial resources, area congregations are making green approaches a part of their faith practices. At a recent gathering hosted by the Indianapolis Center for Congregations, church members shared stories of their green achievements.

A green plan
After attending a November 2006 workshop at Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis, Epworth United Methodist Church member Jodi Perras, who works in the environmental field, was inspired to bring the green sanctuary program to her congregation. A month later, a charter was approved and the church’s Green Team was born.

“When we started out, we tried to focus on things that saved the church money,” Perras said. “We wanted to have a positive impact on the members and the church, building support from the wider congregation.”

She believes the biggest challenge today is climate change.

“Everything we’ve done has benefitted climate change, and we haven’t hit it head-on yet,” Perras said. “The scientific consensus is there, the need to address it is clear, so we want to do some events that are more specific to the climate-change issue.”

On Nov. 29, Epworth will host Dr. Gabriel Filippelli, an earth sciences professor at IUPUI and member of the International Panel on Global Climate Change. Filippelli will speak on the topic of climate change.

Built-in green
“When we began looking at a building expansion, our architect drew up plans that included green ideas for the whole property,” said Ryan Ahlgrim, pastor of First Mennonite Church. “As long as we were planning our building, why not take a look at the entire property and make decisions about how it was all being used?”

First Mennonite Church sits on 10 acres of land at 4601 Knollton Road. About half of the property had big lawns, which meant lots of mowing. Congregation member Gwen White, who worked for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, spearheaded an effort to re-evaluate the land use. She recommended restoring some of the property’s wetlands.

“We decided to do some reforesting in the front and back of our property,” Ahlgrim said. “By putting in more forest, we could eventually build a meditation trail around the property.”

Since planning began, wetlands, native grasses, native flowers, trees, shrubs and a community garden space have been set aside. An outdoor picnic pavilion and expanded playground will welcome the church community as well as residents of the surrounding neighborhoods.

Creative strategies engage churches
Recycling paper, plastics and eyeglasses are some of the efforts happening in churches today. Epworth also has hosted a movie series with the Sierra Club, featuring films on topics like sustainable food, water infrastructure and mountaintop removal coal mining.

Perhaps Epworth’s most popular event was a secondhand fashion show.

“Participants selected and modeled entire outfits created from purchases at secondhand clothing stores,” Perras said.

—By Deb Buehler, for Custom Publications

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