2019 Cool Congregations Challenge Winners V2

Congratulations to the 2019 Cool Congregations Challenge Winners and Runners Up! You have truly gone the extra mile and are leading the way to a brighter future for us all!

Thanks to our expert panel of judges this year! By category they are:  Community Inspiration: Ashaki Scott, IPL National Office Manager and Program Assistant and Elena Bettis, Communications Director from Faith in Place, IPL’s affiliate in Illinois. Energy Saver: Ryan Snow, Director of Education at the U.S. Green Building Council and Hannah Bastian, Research Analyst from The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Renewable Role Model: Jerry Bernstein, Special Projects Coordinator. Sacred Grounds: Rev. Paul Uzel, Presbyterian Minister and Chair of the Iowa IPL Chapter, “Dubuque Interfaith Green Coalition” and Rev. Derrick Elliot, Pastor of Desert Heritage United Church of Christ, Mesa, Arizona. Cool Planner: Jerry Lawson, National Manager of the EPA’s Energy Star for Congregations program and Mikelann Scerbo, Senior Associate, Research at the Alliance for Saving Energy.

ALDERSGATE GARDENS AND NATURE-BASED PLAYGROUND Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska won IPL’s Cool Congregations Challenge Sacred Grounds award for transforming a 1.9 acre lawn surrounding the congregation into a neighborhood park and arboretum featuring a a landscaping plan that benefits the environment and serves the community by providing habitat for wildlife, immersion in nature, and nature-based play for children. The members of Aldersgate were concerned about the levels of obesity and stress reported statistically in the residents of the neighborhood and sought to contribute to the solution by providing the benefits of exposure to nature – reduced symptoms of ...
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2019 Sacred Ground – Aldersgate Gardens and Nature Based Playground

SOLAR FOR THE NEXT GENERATION Brevard-Davidson River Presbyterian Church in Brevard, North Carolina won the Cool Congregations Renewable Role Model Award for their solar installation. An aging congregation, they initially made big plans for a large installation, but the cost was too prohibitive, so they scaled back to a 20kW “pilot project” designed by students at the Advanced Energy Program at Appalachian State University as an educational project which significantly cut the cost for the church. The system provides 35% of the electricity for their main building, saving them $3,000 annually in energy costs, and preventing 28 tons of carbon dioxide emissions ...
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2019 Renewable Role Model – Solar for the Next Generation

Urbandale United Church of Christ in Urbandale, Iowawon the Cool Congregations Energy Saver Award for the work of their “Green Boat Team” to achieve a 40% reduction in electricity use and a 20% reduction in gas use. They are the first of their denomination in Iowa to sign the Paris Pledge to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030 and they are ahead of schedule. Faced with an aging building and failing piecemeal systems constructed and remodeled over many years, they persistently overcame each obstacle of building repair and upgrade to be able to retrofit their heating and cooling systems and improve the energy ...
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2019 Energy Saver – Fulfilling the Paris Pledge with Persistence

All Saints Episcopal Church, 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 ...
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2019 Community Inspiration Winner – Inspiring members to make changes at home

COMMUNITY INSPIRATION The Providence Climate Agreement Sisters of Providence of St. Mary of the Woods, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN collected pledges from the community at large to the Providence Climate Agreement of those taking action to reduce emissions totaling 1275 tons annually. ENERGY SAVER Climate and Energy Stewardship: Carbon Footprint Fund The Presbytery of East Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee created a Carbon Footprint fund, collecting about $10,000 and disbursing about $6300 so far to fund seven projects in the Presbytery, all of them involving lighting upgrades to LED lamps and fixtures. RENEWABLE ROLE MODEL Solar Sisters Sisters of St. Francis of the ...
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2019 Runners Up