Tennessee Interfaith Power & Light

A Spiritual Response to Climate Change

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Get Charged Up About Electric Vehicles

March 3, 2023 by Ted Jackson

Get Charged Up About EV’s with Kent Minault

Electric Vehicle

 

Thursday, March 23, 7 pm EST
Zoom Workshop
Please register with the button below

Save the Date

Please join Knoxville Area Interfaith Power and Light for a virtual climate academy about electric vehicles.  Kent Minault, Political Chair of the Harvey Broome Group and Chair of the Transportation Committee of the Tennessee Chapter of the Sierra Club, will provide loads of information about:

  • What’s wrong with gasoline?
  • EVs and the environment;
  • Federal incentives for purchasing EVs;
  • Vehicle chargers and Public charging stations;
  • monetary considerations;  and more.

Questions will be welcomed.

Questions about the workshop?  Contact Pam Hindle at pamela.hindle9247@gmail.com

Filed Under: What's New

Faith Climate Action Week 2023

March 2, 2023 by Ted Jackson

Faith Climate Action Week is ten days in April during Earth Month when IPL congregations focus on how we can all take action to protect our climate. This events-based program encourages all faith groups to discuss the spiritual side of climate change at services, while also pushing for greater support from local and national policymakers. At FaithClimateActionWeek.org, groups have access to downloadable sermons, postcards and other resources. Watch the 2023 promo video below:

Filed Under: What's New

Woodmont Christian Church Nashville Receives Cool Congregation Award

January 20, 2023 by Ted Jackson

Woodmont Christian Church

By Sarah Paulos, Interfaith Power & Light

Woodmont Christian Church, in Nashville, Tennessee is a certified Cool Congregation at the 10% reduction level, saving 67 tons of carbon emissions annually. The 2500-member church accomplished this by upgrading its lighting and monitoring thermostats and lighting use. This accomplishment is their first step towards their goal to answer the call by their denomination’s Green Chalice program to significantly reduce emissions by 2030.

Clay Stauffer, the lead pastor at Woodmont writes, “Woodmont is honored to receive this important recognition and we will continue to work hard to be a Green Chalice Church and environmentally friendly congregation.”

Steve Vining presenting the Cool Congregations Plaque to Rev. Clay Stauffer

Read their story in the words of church member Steve Vining,

“Our pastor, Clay Stauffer asked me to start a Green Chalice Ministry chapter in 2019. This is the environmental stewardship ministry for the First Christian Christian Church. The mission of Green Chalice at Woodmont  is to connect Christian faith, spiritual practice, and Christian fullness in order to better care for God’s creation.  Activities centered on increasing recycling, resource conservation, and education about best practices.

After recruiting our members, we worked with the church maintenance staff to look for ways to reduce energy consumption and Waste. This effort was led by Sam Marsh at our church, who deserves most of the credit for the improvements we’ve documented in this submission. Additions and upgrades to existing facilities are all done with an eye to maximize energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions.

We chose to apply for certification for our work on the original part of the church called the “Sanctuary and Mansion”. This facility totals about 58,000 square feet and was built between 1943 and 1980.

One of our first steps was to examine our current energy usage (gas and electricity) to determine our baseline, and to have the utility, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), conduct an energy audit of our facility. The result of the audit caused us to convert all lighting to LED in 2020 and to focus on reducing waste by closely monitoring thermostats and lighting use at the church.

The project cost was around $50,000 for the work done between 2019-2022, and the savings are calculated to be around $10,900 per year. We are also saving approximately  83,400kWh of electricity and 9,846 therms per year, resulting in 67 tons of carbon emissions saved, or a 14.5% reduction in emissions, earning us the Cool Congregations Certification Award of 10% and above.

The TVA audit also identified a number of air conditioning units which were 20 years old, some even older, which are in the process of being replaced. The church recently committed to replacing a 110 ton chiller and seven rooftop air conditioning units totaling approximately 35 tons capacity early in 2023.

A major addition to the church was also completed in 2021 which greatly improved energy efficiency in the newer portion of the church.

Woodmont Christian Church hopes to submit for a 20% reduction in emissions in the future  once the new heating and air conditioning equipment is installed and we’ll have had three years to see how the new, highly energy efficient chapel impacts the total facility performance.”

Dan Joranko, who leads Tennessee Interfaith Power & Light writes, “Congratulations to Woodmont Christian Church for being Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light’s first new Cool Congregation in several years!”

Filed Under: What's New

TIPL: Our 2022 Story

December 30, 2022 by Ted Jackson

Happy New Year from TIPL!Vote Green

We had a very successful 2022:

  • *We launched Cool Congregations – a program to help congregations save energy
  • *We hosted Faith Climate Action Week – involving over 40 congregations in Earth Week activities
  • *We hosted our first event in Clarksville: an Interfaith Earth Week Celebration at the Downtown Commons
  • *We continued our impactful advocacy – and we learned that Tennessee led the nation in reducing the carbon intensity of power generation between 2016-2020!
  • And more… Thank you for making this work possible!- Read the full story below

Please consider a year-end donation to TIPL

 

Dear Friends,

Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light made a real difference in 2022!  We launched the Cool Congregations program to assist congregations in energy savings. We involved over 40 congregations in faith-centered Earth Week activities. We continue to be one of the leading climate advocacy groups in the state – and recently learned that such efforts contributed to Tennessee leading the nation in the reduction of carbon intensity from 2016-2020
So many great stories to share!  Help us continue this critical work in 2023

Advocacy
TIPL has historically been very active, especially in addressing the carbon footprint of TVA and in participating in Conservation Day at the Tennessee State Legislature.  Our work has had an impact:  Tennessee led the nation in the reduction of the carbon intensity of power generation during the second half of the decade, according to a September 2022 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  Most of this reduction has been due to TVA replacing coal with less carbon intensive forms of generation. TIPL continues to be one of the  leading environmental groups encouraging TVA to continue to retire its coal-fired plants and to increase its investments in solar and wind power generation.
Other Advocacy

  • TVA issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement regarding a proposal for a gas fired power plant.We worked extensively with other environmental groups to develop substantive and specific comments on the impacts of the proposed alternatives to the current coal-fired power plant.
  • We successfully advocated for appointments to the governing board of TVA which had been stalled in Congress for over a year.
  • In Knoxville, we worked with local government and researchers on a heat study
  • In Chattanooga, we joined with other environmental groups to successfully produce a climate action plan for the City, and we are now actively participating in implementation.

Programs
We focused on re-engaging faith groups that have been active as well as reaching out to new congregations across the state.

Faith Climate Action Week:
TIPL had a very active Faith Climate Action Week centered around Earth Day in April. We sponsored or participated in community-wide activities in Nashville, Knoxville and Clarksville, while also hosting a statewide educational webinar and postings of children and youth sharing their Earth Care hopes and concerns on Facebook.  It was exciting to have participation by 45 congregations new to the nationwide Faith Climate Action Week.

Events:
Clarksville Earth Care Celebration
Around 75 community members attended our Earth Care Celebration at the outdoor Downtown Commons on April 30. The program included music, litanies, prayer, and devotionals by youth from two local congregations – First Presbyterian and Trinity Episcopal – .

Knoxville Climate Prayer Vigil:
The Knoxville Area Chapter of Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light ( KAIPL) celebrated Faith Climate Action Week in partnership with other organizations.  Using the FCAW resources, KAIPL sponsored local participation in the Nationwide Climate Prayer in Downtown Knoxville, Noon April 22.  Participating congregations included Church of the Savior UCC, All Saints Catholic, Good Shepherd Episcopal, First Presbyterian, Battlefield Farm (aka New Harvest) and Hope Ministries.

Knoxville Children’s Bike Giveaway: 
On April 30, KAIPL co-sponsored a bike giveaway at an inner city school in Knoxville with other organizations including Kickstand and Centro Hispano.  It was quite exciting to be able see how excited the families were to receive appropriately sized bikes, obtain safety training in English or Spanish, learn a bit about bike maintenance and how to wear a helmet.  The volunteers had a great time also.

Nashville Earth Care Celebration:
Around 75 community members attended our Earth Care celebration at the Saint Catholic Parish. The program included music, litanies prayer and devotionals. Congregations represented in the program were Congregation Ohabia Sholom (Reform Jewish), Gurdwarsa Sikh Temple, Hobson United Methodist Church, Islamic Center of Nashville, Jackson Street Missionary Baptist Church, Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple, and the Wild Heart Meditation Center.

Statewide Webinar: “Climate Change and Children’s Health”
Around 40 people tuned into our statewide webinar on April 26  – “Climate Change and Children’s Health.” The two The two presenters were Carol Ziegler, a professor at Vanderbilt School of Nursing, and Vanessa Lynch, a field organizer for Moms Clean Air Force in western Pennsylvania.

Statewide Webinar:  “Spirituality from the Ground Up: 
The Knoxville Chapter organized a zoom meeting to discuss how a faith group can reflect their values through the use of their land.Dr. Rosanne Smith and Knox County Master Gardeners led a discussion about food and flower gardens as a way to reflect spiritual values.  Mike Smith described the community garden at Concord United Methodist Church and a food distribution network for excess produce.  Pastor Chris Battle described connecting people to communities via community gardens, as happens at Battlefield Farms and Gardens.  Dr. Elizabeth Hamilton described integrated pest management and how saving and celebrating Appalachian flora is a way to save birds, reduce costs, and reduce health exposure to families and pets.  Fifty six people registered and either attended the zoom or had access to the recording.

Cool Congregations

Beginning this summer, TIPL focused on assisting congregations develop and meet energy reduction and Earth care goals.  Using the nationwide Cool Congregations program, we began offering incentives and expert assistance to faith groups who undertake to reduce energy consumption, promote electric vehicle use, and other related initiatives.
initiative this summer.
Congregations can receive:

  • Customized planning session and presentation to help begin the planning process for energy efficiency and climate resilience
  • Evaluation of utility bills and efficacy of previous energy efficiency measures
  • 2 additional consulting sessions with Brugmansia Ministries
  • Continued support in enacting congregational plans from TNIPL
  • Assistance in applying for the Cool Congregations Challenge
  • $100 gift certificate for implementation materials

We had planned on working with 10 congregations, but I am very happy to report that the response exceeded our expectations!  One congregation has already been certified as a “ Cool Congregation” based on reductions in energy usage, another is ready to submit for certification.  In addition, about a dozen other Tennessee congregations have used the resources and programs offered by TIPL and our parent organization Interfaith Power and Light.  We have had expressions of interest by additional congregations and are looking forward to continuing this work in 2023.

Looking Forward

  • Continue to broaden and strengthen our connections with and between faith communities through Faith Climate Action Week, gatherings such as Climate Academies, and support for the Cool Congregations program
  • Advocate in coalition with other environmental groups on issues which impact our state and our local faith communities.
  • Support each other to respond thoughtfully and spiritually to the challenges of climate change.
  • Begin the work of connecting with faith groups performing similar work in the Southeast Region.

 

Filed Under: What's New

Climate Vigil in Knoxville 3:30 PM September 25

September 15, 2022 by Ted Jackson

All are welcome to attend a Climate Vigil sponsored by the Knoxville Area Chapter of Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light.


Join us Sunday September 25 at 3:30 PM at Eastside Sunday Market, Dr. Walter Hardy Park, 2020 Martin Luther King Ave. It is the last Sunday Market of the year and promises to be wonderful!

For more information contact Courtney Shea, 865-387-7466.

Filed Under: What's New

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TIPL

P.O. Box 26313
Knoxville, TN 37912
tninterfaithpl@gmail.com

 

Mission Statement

 

The mission of the Tennessee Interfaith Power & Light is to spiritually respond to the challenges of the climate crisis through upholding the sacredness of all life, protecting vulnerable communities, and caring for the Earth. We demonstrate our spiritual values by reducing our carbon footprint within our daily lives, releasing the spiritual power of our faith communities, and advocating for transformative climate protection and justice policies.

Tennessee IPL

P.O. Box 26313
Knoxville, TN 37912
tninterfaithpl@gmail.com

Previous Posts

Climate Vigil in Knoxville 3:30 PM September 25

Cool Congregations: Energy Savings and Climate Resilience

Summer Solstice Webinar

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