Saturday November 1, 2025 9:00 am – 12:30 pm Second Presbyterian Church
3511 Belmont Blvd., Nashville, TN 37215
The Nashville Chapter recently hosted a summit on Earth Care for Houses of Worship which was attended by over 100 individuals representing around 40 congregations. Workshops were held regarding how houses of worship could implement initiatives in three areas: energy efficiency and clean energy, earth-friendly care of their land, and earth-friendly operations and events.
The Knoxville chapter continued their work with the over 40 congregations that had attended workshops on energy efficiency and clean energy the previous years. TIPL was able to secure energy audits from their local utility (KUB). A February workshop addressed how to use the information from an audit to take next steps to improve their energy stewardship.
- Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy Options for Your House of Worship led by Rick Held, Project Development Lead for Real-Time Strategies and Program Director for Knoxville RESET Apprenticeship Readiness Program.
- Earth-friendly Use and Care of House of Worship Land led by Rev. Ann Cover, Co-Chair of the Creation Care Ministry of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of The United Methodist Church.
- Earth-friendly Operations and Events at Your House of Worship led by Michael Deweese, Business Administrator at Belle Meade United Methodist Church.
Each presenter has extensive practical experience working with houses of worship on their topic. See their bios below.
The presenters will give introductory talks in a beginning plenary session. Then each will hold a workshop to dive more deeply into their area of expertise. The workshops are designed to give plenty of time for questions, conversation, and sharing of practices among participants. So, come ready to ask questions and share whatever experience you have with earth care at your place of worship.
Rick Held is the Project Development Lead for Real-Time Strategies and Program Director for the Knoxville RESET Apprenticeship Readiness Program. For decades, Rick has given visionary and practical leadership at the intersection of economic, environmental, and racial justice and equity, primarily in Knoxville but also across Tennessee and Appalachia. Through his consulting practice, Real-Time Strategies, Rick has engaged labor unions, inner city churches and the University of Tennessee to partner with frontline community-based organizations. This culminated in 2024 with the formation of Knoxville RESET — an historic coalition developing justice-informed clean energy projects. Rick is presently the Program Director for Knoxville RESET’s Apprenticeship Readiness Program which just graduated and placed its first cohort into union building trades apprenticeships. The program is standing up a skilled, well-compensated workforce embedded in Knoxville’s disadvantaged communities.
Rev. Ann Cover is a retired pastor who currently serves as Co-Chair of the Creation Care Ministry of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church. As a mother and grandmother, and as a former pediatric nurse practitioner, Ann brings to creation care a passion for the needs of children, youth, families, and all vulnerable people. When serving at South End United Methodist Church, Ann was given the opportunity to work with others in improving the energy efficiency of the church facilities and in establishing a successful garden. The garden, which she still manages, continues to provide fresh produce for several local food programs. The garden also has wildflowers that attract and nurture pollinating insects. In addition, it is a space for learning about restorative agricultural practices.
Michael Deweese has been the Business Administrator at Belle Meade United Methodist Church since 2022. In his role overseeing many aspects of the things that keep a house of worship functioning well at Belle Meade and other congregations, Michael has paid special attention to doing things in a way that demonstrates care for the Earth. This includes energy efficiency, sustainable purchasing of church supplies, reducing paper consumption, etc. When serving in a similar capacity at Christ UMC in Franklin, Michael oversaw the installation of 21 kilowatts of solar panels and battery storage. Michael brings to his church work a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from MTSU.