Mount Olive strives to achieve a “gentle with the earth” approach to every aspect of parish life.
The Advisory Committee for Care of the Earth/Climate Justice, appointed by the Mount Olive Vestry, guides and provides resources for the congregation, its committees, and the parish’s members and friends to live in faithful harmony with the earth.
Mount Olive took an important step toward this commitment in 2017, when as part of a $2.7 million renovation, the congregation installed an innovative geothermal system to heat and cool its building. This shift to using renewable energy, along with an array of solar panels already in place, drastically reduced the congregation’s reliance on fossil fuels. The goal is to make Mount Olive carbon neutral by 2030.
For More Information
- Read about the church’s geothermal installation here and here.
- Review the performance of Mount Olive’s solar panels.
- Contact the advisory committee co-chairs.
How You Can Participate
- Educate yourself about climate justice issues, and lower your personal carbon footprint.
- Read and live into “Gentle with the Earth,” a statement adopted by the congregation in 2017. It acknowledges, “The world we serve is not just the people of the earth; it is also the world in which humans live, the environment—earth, air, water, soil.”
- Learn about the “Paris Pledge for Action,” a commitment from thousands of organizations worldwide to actively support the 2015 agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.
- Explore Responding to Climate Change: A Guide for Personal Reflection and Group Discussion, a downloadable resource from The Christian Century.
- Consult this directory of climate justice statements, organizations, and resources.
- Join congregational discussions and advocacy opportunities. Watch for information in the Olive Branch newsletter.
- Investigate the history of Mount Olive’s involvement in the climate issue, including our partnership with Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light.
- Check out resources from Interfaith Power & Light and Green Christian.
- Refer to The Money-Saving Guide to Going Green at Home for kid-friendly tips.
- Sign up to receive climate justice action alerts from Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light and ELCA Action Alerts.
- Join ELCA Advocacy, which addresses numerous justice issues.
