Faith UMC in Fargo. Photos from Facebook.

In 2023, the Dakotas Conference approved a resolution at its annual conference held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, encouraging churches to form Green Teams. With the focus on being more "green,"' Faith United Methodist Church in Fargo, North Dakota, started evaluating its resource usage.

During a sermon, Rev. Ray Baker of Faith UMC said, "The United States represents five percent of the world's population and uses 25% of the earth's resources."

The Revised Social Principles of The United Methodist Church strongly emphasize creation care, acknowledging our lack of care for God's creation and our peril as a result. The revisions focus on the destruction of ecosystems, global warming and climate change, dependence on fossil fuels, and how we can become better stewards of all God-created and declared "good." The principles' call is to work hard on environmental racism, sustainability, food justice, caring for all creatures, protecting space, and affirming science and traditional wisdom. 

Faith UMC's green efforts

"Green Team" efforts are underway at Faith UMC. The goal is to be more conscientious about maximizing resource efficiency.

"Three church members at the annual conference are part of our leadership team. We brought up the idea of creating a green team and asking the question, "What could we do?" We didn't come up with any specific ideas at the leadership team, but it was talked about over coffee during the fellowship hour," said Rev. Ray Baker, Faith UMC.

Congregation member Ken Elfstrum, working with the Faith UMC Trustees, led the first effort this summer by converting the outside parking and building lights to LED. Replacing the current lights with LED fixtures costs about $150 per light and $300 per light pole. The conversation cost $1,685. The congregation hopes to yield savings of $500 per year. 

Faith UMC put bright, white LED lights in their parking lot. Photo from Adobe Stock.

"One of the members just said, 'Well, I can head up that project, raise the funds, contact people, and ask them what they get.' He started it, and some of us helped. Four light poles with mercury vapor lights were in the parking lot, and three were outside on the church building. We replaced the mercury vapor lights with LED lights," explained Pastor Ray.  

The U.S. Department of Energy reports that LED lights are economically and environmentally friendlier than mercury vapor lights. They are also more energy efficient. Mercury light consumes ten times more energy over 25,000 hours than an LED. LED lights are more durable, produce less heat, don't contain toxic chemicals like mercury, are recyclable, and lower monthly utility expenses in the future—saving up to 80% in annual energy costs.

"The parking lot looks fantastic at night. People have noticed that the lights are bright and white instead of amber. People were happy at how quickly the project was done," Pastor Ray said.

The congregation hosts a food giveaway twice a month, serving 125-150 families. A large refrigerator was donated to the food ministry. To save money and energy, they plan to operate the refrigerator twice each month rather than all the time.

"It is a large, stand-up refrigerator, you know. We figured out pretty quickly that it would be too expensive just to run it all the time. We made the decision only to use it on the food pantry days. We put a meter on it to see how much energy it used if we had left it plugged in every all day. It would have cost about $500 annually for electricity. We plan to use it 16 hours a month. That is a huge savings in hours and costs," shared Pastor Ray.

The Great Plains Food Bank provides food for the giveaways. Perishable items picked up on the day of the food giveaway need to be refrigerated.

Another energy-saving practice at Faith UMC is utilizing recycled paper products only in the kitchen and office.

"We buy our paper goods through a group called Dakota Paper. A few months ago, we started talking to them and saying we only wanted to purchase recyclable things. Everything that goes through our kitchen and office, including all those goods, are recyclable now," Pastor Ray shared.

The furnace and air conditioning units are inspected annually. During the inspection, it was discovered that the water heaters were set to recycle constantly.

"The gentleman that did the work this time looked at the water heaters in our basement where the furnace is. He discovered that the two water heaters are set on a recycling function, so the water is always heating. He made some minor adjustments, and the two water heaters are ready. It will be a noticeable cost savings," said Pastor Ray.

The church's heating and cooling system is 25 years old. In the next few years, the goal is to replace the furnace and air conditioner with energy-efficient units.

Faith UMC is open to any green ideas or cost-saving measures. They are looking at replacing their fluorescent lights in the sanctuary in the sanctuary with LED lights.

"As a church, we want to make every effort to care for our God-given world and manage expenses responsibly. It takes a team to explore the many possibilities to care for the gifts given," said Pastor Ray.

Connecting the neighborhood

Faith UMC recently held a neighborhood block party. One hundred thirty people from the neighborhood came to the parking lot to enjoy music, fellowship, and food.

Members of the congregation prepared brats and sweet corn and brought side dishes and desserts. The brats were boiled in the kitchen and then put on the grill for a charbroil before serving. The sweet corn was husked and placed in a cooler, and boiling water was added. The water was drained, and the ears of corn stayed hot for people to enjoy.

The praise team shared music while people gathered for the meal. Games, including trivia, followed. Pastor Ray and his wife Sara served as greeters, along with two other couples who were not members of the congregation and were from the neighborhood.

"We have a grassy area that we call Faith Park, where the block party is held. We haul out tables and chairs for 130 people.  People really enjoy it. They tank us and want us to do it again next year," said Pastor Ray.

Resources:

At the 2024 Dakotas Annual Conference in Bismarck, North Dakota, a panel provided ideas and tools for churches of all sizes to take the next step in caring for all of God's creation.  View a video of the workshop. 

Global Ministries EarthKeepers is a training and incubator program that provides a collaborative space for United Methodists to develop and grow environmental projects in their communities. Topics include eco-theology, antiracism, community organizing, and project planning. All participants plan a project during the training. The next EarthKeepers training events will be held October 3-6, 2024, at Hamline United Methodist Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Access the details.