Members sign up for composting
, New Albany, Ohio won the 2019 Cool Congregations Community Inspiration award for inspiring members to make changes at home to save energy and care for creation by signing up 23 families for energy audits offered by the local utility company. Using a code from Interfaith Power and Light, they offered church members discounted home energy audits from the local utility and many members have subsequently made improvements to their homes using rebates offered by the utility.
They also contracted with a local composting company to pick up compost consisting of food scraps and compostable disposables from the church and invited church members to bring their compostables to the church for pick up.
Church member families have come to understand how easy composting is and what a big difference it can make in reducing global warming emissions from the landfill. The church shares a parking lot with the congregation Temple Beth Shalom who has recently asked to join the effort by composting food scraps and switching to compostable disposables. The group has dreams of expanding the composting program to the greater New Albany community by offering the church as a collection site for local families. Their hope is to help people understand that they can make changes in their own lives outside the church that not only safeguard creation but also save money and stimulate the local economy.