wisewords
water showers to the community.
Our “Cool Congregation” program
encourages families to compete with
each other to have the most energy-effi-
A Conversation
cient home. We hear stories of kids rid-
ing their bikes to church and even taking
cold showers to decrease their energy
with Sally Bingham
use. Once people get the message of
conservation, they become admirably
Community Minister,
creative.
National Activist How are you building an interfaith
coalition that cuts across the political
by April thompson
spectrum?
These days, we’re doing a little more
advocacy work than we used to, get-
T
he Rev. Canon Sally Bingham, like the environment, when they may ting people to ask their legislators for
a priest at San Francisco’s be struggling to pay the bills? laws that will cut U.S. greenhouse gas
Grace Cathedral, is founder and
We show people ways they can save
emissions. During our lobby day in
president of the Regeneration Project,
money. We gave out 48,000 free
Washington in May, rabbis, Buddhists
a nonprofit organization dedicated
compact fluorescent light bulbs to
and Catholic priests walk the White
to greening faith-based communi-
our congregation, and they took them
House halls to talk about these issues.
ties. Through their Interfaith Power
home and reduced their energy bills
An unexpected consequence
and Light campaign, Bingham and
immediately.
of our work is that people of diverse
her eco-apostles have helped some
There is a start-up cost to some
religions have put their theological
10,000 congregations in 28 states to
of the alternatives we promote, but
differences aside for this common pur-
reduce their carbon footprint.
sometimes you have to spend money
pose. We deliver a similar message to
A stay-at-home mom until she en-
to save money. For example, we help
politicians: If you are a person of faith,
rolled in college at age 45, Bingham is
congregations put in solar panels,
then you have a responsibility to care
a recipient of the Purpose Prize, which
which have a payback period of
for creation, no matter your political
honors leaders over 60 who are taking
about eight years. Once installed, that
affiliation.
on society’s biggest challenges. She is
congregation will start getting electric-
the lead author of the 2009 book, Love
ity for free, and they receive credit for
How can we learn to see living an
God, Heal Earth: 21 Leading Religious
any excess electricity they sell back to
eco-friendly life as a spiritual practice?
Voices Speak Out on Our Sacred Duty
the grid. The first step is to understand the
to Protect the Environment.
present situation of environmental
You founded Interfaith Power and degradation. People generally want to
What scriptures or spiritual teachings
Light in 1997, when the idea of put- do the right thing. Years ago, I uncon-
specifically impel you and others to
ting solar panels on churches was sciously behaved in ways that harmed
act to save the environment?
revolutionary. Now that “green” has our environment, but now, among
The first and great commandment is gone mainstream, is it easier to get other things, I compost, drive a fuel-
to love God and love your neighbor congregations on board? efficient car and unplug appliances
as yourself. Your neighbor isn’t just the
We no longer have to be proac-
when they’re not in use.
person next door; it’s also the genera-
tive. People now come to us in such
There is a discipline involved in
tion after us. This is a mandate for
swarms; we barely have sufficient staff
following any kind of spiritual path.
environmental protection.
to deal with the requests, even though
But eventually, it becomes who you
God asked us to be fruitful and
our national office employs eight
are; you’ll find that your heart grows
multiply and “tend the garden.” We’ve
people.
bigger in the process.
certainly multiplied; now we need
We have some tremendous suc-
to focus on gardening. God gave us
cess stories. Perhaps the most dramatic
For more information, visit TheRegen-
dominion—which is different from
erationProject.org.
was when a 10-day blackout hit. The
domination and exploitation; it means
Catholic priest who runs our Michigan
taking care of the Earth.
April Thompson is a Washington,
office and has a solar panel wired to
D.C.-based writer, entrepreneur and
a wind turbine to supply power to his
consultant whose work has appeared
How do you engage average church-
congregation became a beacon of
in dozens of books and magazines.
going Americans in big-picture issues
light by serving up hot food and warm-
Connect at AprilWrites.com.
40 Phoenix
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