Tending Earth: Solar Installation

At the congregation’s annual meeting in January, we voted to approve a statement of urgent concern for the care of creation. The statement reads:

God has blessed humankind with an abundant planet as our home, a habitat teeming with life, clean air, fresh water, awe-inspiring in fruitfulness, complexity, and beauty. We share this vast Earth community of life with all creatures, both human kind and other kind. As people of faith, we acknowledge that the human vocation is to “till and keep” Earth as a garden, even as we draw from it all that we need to live (Genesis 2:15). The Christian peoples of modern Western Europe and the United States of America and the economic systems we have developed are failing disastrously in this calling. Driven by a will to dominate both nature and neighbor with a culture of aggressive industrialization and economic imperialism, we have badly abused this home. Furthermore, we have unjustly burdened colonized and Indigenous Peoples with a deteriorating environment, loss of life, removal from homelands, worsening impacts of climate change, and the loss of species and habitat. Yet despite the dire state of the living world, we believe that we can still curb our destructive ways – and must do so urgently – if only we hear God’s call, open our eyes, and lend our hands to the restoration of creation.

Therefore, as members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, we resolve:

• To feature the principles of Creation Care prominently in church communications, services, and programming, and to use these channels to call our congregants to urgent action in defense of God’s living world.

• To participate actively and effectively in broader actions that promote environmental concern and justice within our local, national, global, and faith-based communities, recognizing that fundamental system changes are needed. In particular, we pledge to support the leadership of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and Youth communities in efforts to gain environmental justice and a sustainable future for all.

• To conduct all church business – including its investments, facility improvements, maintenance, purchasing, and waste management – in a manner that minimizes our carbon footprint and promotes clean air, clean water, and biodiversity.

After a decade of faithful commitment on the part of many, Holy Trinity has a solar array. To finance the

$89,000 system, the church took advantage of funds from the Stepping Out in Faith Our Shared Home Fund, a “Green Streets” grant we received from the City of Minneapolis (equal to $21,964), and incentive payments we will receive from Xcel over the life of the system. Our solar team devoted hundreds of hours contacting and comparing eight solar installers. Ultimately, we selected an African-American owned firm, Renewable Energy Partners, who included 80 hours of training for installers-in-training into the bid.

We expect about 43% of our electricity (in a normal, non-COVID year) will be generated by the system— more in summer, less in winter. Most importantly, we are addressing climate change by using the sun’s energy to produce electricity and saving over 43,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually. We expect to flip the switch on the system on or around All Saints Day (November 1), a fitting time to remember those who have come before us and those who will come after us. May our actions now honor the generations to come.