Success Stories
We celebrate the success of the 2012 National Preach-In. 40 congregations in Minnesota participated along with over 1000 congregations nation-wide. Here's a sampling of the work in Minnesota:
Read the MinnPost article by Don Shelby on the Preach-In
Rev Gwin Pratt from St. Luke's Presbyterian gave this Preach-In sermon:
Minnesotans Thank the EPA for the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 Duluth, MN
MN IPL joined other organizations to publicly thank the EPA for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards released in December. Pastor David Carlson of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Duluth spoke on behalf of faith communities and MN IPL. Read his comments.
Read the story in the Duluth News Tribune.
Read more about the impacts of mercury in Minnesota and why this new rule is so important.
Star Tribune article on mercury levels in North Shore babies reinforces why we are thankful for the new EPA rules.
Learn more about the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 : MN IPL and other organizations held signs of thanks at the U of M before a speach by EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson. When asked, Administrator Jackson stressed the important role that faith communities have in being strong advocates in support of EPA rules that protect the public health and environment for all.
Board Member, Chuck Dayton had this op-ed published in the Star Tribune.
Moving Planet - Moving Faith
On Saturday, September 24th, 2011 in St. Paul, MN more than 40 faith congregations came together to form the Moving Planet - Moving Faith procession and send one message taking action on climate change is a moral imperative and all people of faith should respond. Over 150 people of faith joined the 1,000 people already gathered for the “Moving Planet” rally at the Capitol grounds, sponsored by MN350 (www.mn350.org).
The interfaith procession, sponsored and organized by Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, was led by a giant blue-faced Heart of the Beast puppet holding a model of Earth and trailing a giant blue ribbon, representing a River of Solutions to the climate crisis that can be implemented now. The River of Solutions symbolized the shared wisdom we bring to the table as people of many different faiths and backgrounds.
Thank you to all who participated and supported the procession! View the press release.
Nativity Lutheran Church – St. Anthony 
Nativity Lutheran Church in St. Anthony has had an active environmental stewardship team for three years. In November, Nativity volunteered to be a collection site for the “Recycle Your Holidays” light collection program sponsored by the Recycling Association of Minnesota, ACE Hardware Stores, CERT, XCEL Energy, Great River Energy, and KARE11. Nativity was the only collection site in the City of St. Anthony. RAM provided three collection bins which were filled twice, and the church plans on doing it again in 2011.
Westminster Presbyterian Church conducted a Bike/Walk to Church Sunday. Members were encouraged to walk or bike to church in groups. Penn Cycle provided a mobile service van to give every bike a thorough safety check and general service tune up. There was also a random drawing for $50 gift certificates to local bike and running shops. The program was funded through a 2009 Climate Change MicroGrant from the City of Minneapolis. http://www.ewestminster.org/
The Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis conducted a Blessing of the Bikes event which included a blessing service and bike ride. St. Mary's is located in downtown Minneapolis; their efforts are integrated with city-wide strategies such as increased bike routes and community-owned bicycles. Check out St. Mary's Ecological Stewardship page on their website.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis was looking for ways to cuts expenses and become more environmentally conscious. They hired a consultant to conduct a lighting audit of the church and the attached mansion. The consultant prepared a recommendation for all the lighting in the building, gave the projected cost, rebate amount, and projected savings. The projected savings in energy costs was $4000 a year. The vestry approved the complete conversion to CFLs and the budget now shows that we have realized a savings of at least 80% of the projected $4000 amount. We have not sacrificed brightness and in some cases the lighting is better. We definitely would recommend churches have the audit done and consider converting to CFLs. http://www.stpaulsmpls.org/