From the comfort of air-conditioned offices on one of the hottest days of summer, the Rev. Zach Hopple and I chatted about the UM Global Ministries’ Earthkeeper program and how the church can be better stewards of creation. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Zach, thanks so much for chatting with me. I’d love to hear more about Earthkeepers and how you got connected with this UM Global Ministries program.
Earthkeepers is an organization that helps us create projects that help us help our community. Mentors guide us on our projects, and we connect and network with other Earthkeepers throughout the 20-hour training program.
I had been working with the Environmental Protection Agency since 2019, so this was really about making a United Methodist connection with work I had already been doing.
When I started at the EPA in 2019, we were looking at ways to connect environmental justice with resources for the church. We developed a training program to help houses of worship see where they could save energy. My job was creating a group of teams to go and do that work. With COVID we started doing webinars. You can find them here: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/ej-webinar-series-houses-worship-and-communities
Tell me, why should the church care about the environment?
You can’t help but notice the heat waves we’ve been having. Things keep getting hotter and hotter and hotter. There is evidence that our planet is struggling and if we don’t do something soon things can get incredibly worse, especially for our kids and grandkids. It’s not just about us.
We are charged with taking care of the environment by both Scripture and our Social Principles. In Genesis 1:26-27 God creates humanity in God’s own image and gives them the responsibility to take charge of the earth and look after every living thing.
Our Social Principles tell us
“All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life, and space are to be valued and conserved because they are God’s creation and not solely because they are useful to human beings.”— United Methodist Social Principles, ¶160
What kind of environmental work are you doing in your local church?
We started with changing the light bulbs to LED’s. We began updating to higher efficiency appliances as the current ones wear out. I made sure the church put in 7-day programmable thermostats when we changed out the old ones, so we weren’t heating or cooling the building on Saturdays when no one was there.
Okay, so changing lightbulbs, switching to higher efficiency appliances as old ones age out. Any other tips and tricks for people?
Reach out to local businesses like landscaping businesses can help with water drainage around the church, or help you plant native plants, etc. There are people who are willing to help you and talk to you. You can literally go to people down the street.
What gets you excited about this work?
It makes a difference. It really does. As a church we are supposed to be the role models. If your church is making a conscious effort to focus on energy savings and helping the environment it will trickle down to the people. If 100 households are doing the same thing it can really make a difference.
What’s surprised you the most as you’ve engaged with other Earthkeepers?
It’s amazing how many people are doing similar projects across the country. We are doing the same things in our own little areas. How to save energy, how to improve air quality, how to pass legislation at the conference level. These small changes add up.
Small changes do indeed add up over time. What small step can you take to raise awareness and make lasting change during this Season of Creation?
Find Creation Care Worship Resources here
Learn more about Global Ministries Earthkeepers here
Find the Environmental Protection Agency’s webinars for Houses of Worship here