"We encourage all members of the Episcopal Church in New England to see, in the promises of the Baptismal Covenant, the call to serve Christ in all Creation." 

(Province I Bishop’s pastoral letter)

The Province I Energy Stewardship Ministry invites us to serve Christ by reducing our impact on Creation.   Specifically, we are called to decrease our congregational energy use as responsible stewards of our church’s financial resources and the natural world. As we reduce our energy use we lessen our carbon footprint,  responding to the growing threat of climate change. 

At the very same time  as money is saved on utility bills, we have more resources for God’s mission in the world. Imagine the possibility of reducing  congregational energy bills by 20-30% as we work together to preserve God’s Creation. 

The Episcopal Church has just released a resource guide for congregations to begin or expand  their energy stewardship program.  Details are below: 

 Getting Started on the Genesis Covenant:
Reduce Energy Use, Save Money, and Care for God's Creation
In 2009, The Episcopal Church memorialized the Genesis Covenant, which is a national, ecumenical effort by religious communities to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from every facility they maintain by at least 50% within 10 years. Most congregations find they save money when they implement the Genesis Covenant because they reduce their energy use.  This resource begins with an introduction to the Genesis Covenant itself and why it's an important effort within faith communities. It continues with summary discussions in the areas of energy audits, financing, and carbon footprints? and suggests resources in those areas. Finally, there is a section on measuring home/individual carbon footprints.

The pdf itelf is here: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/sites/default/files/genesis_convenant_final.pdf
 

The pdf is linked to on this page: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/page/eco-justice 

On-line Resources
for Energy Stewardship
www.province1.org
www.ecusa.org
www.ecww.org
(Diocese of Olympia Environment Committee)
www.stewardsofcreation.org
(Diocese of Alabama)

Eco-faith organizations
www.Interfaithpowerandlight.org
www.Greenfaith.org
www.earthministry.org
www.nccecojustice.org
(National Council of Churches)
www.eco-justice.org

Auditing and utility tracking
www.energystar.gov
www.coolcongregations.com

Funding, rebates and incentives
www.ecbf.org
(Episcopal  Church Building Fund)

www. DSIREUSA.org