Submitted by Rev. Sharon McCormick, MSC Creation Justice Task Force
It was a time of celebration for the Local Church Engagement (LCE) subgroup of the Mountain Sky Creation Justice Task Force. Thirteen conference churches applied for funding from the Miles of Love offering received at the 2021 Annual Conference. Thirteen local churches were excited about decreasing their energy consumption and their carbon footprint! Thirteen churches were actually wanting to care for creation in more sustainable ways.
The challenge came when the team realized the total ask from the applying churches equaled $18,250 and the total amount available for distribution from the Miles-of -Love fundraiser plus funds taken from the Creation Justice budget equaled $7,600.
An established rating scale, with six criteria equaling a total of 65 points, formed the framework for the selection process. The LCE group spent hours digesting applications and assigning points.
Discernment led to a distribution system that made every church a winner, but no church received the full amount requested.
We thank all church applicants and celebrate the progress being made in our conference to care for creation. Well done!!!!!
Congratulations to the 2022 Grant Recipients
Beulah UMC, CO |
LED lightbulbs |
Christ Church UMC, Denver, CO |
pollinator garden project |
Christ Church UMC, Salt Lake City, UT |
installation of EV charger in the parking lot |
FUMC Missoula, MT |
solar panels |
Grace UMC, Billings, MT |
installation of LED light fixtures and bulbs |
Grand Valley UMC, Parachute, CO |
replacement of windows with double pane thermal windows |
Manzanola UMC, CO |
exterior doors and windows |
Smoky Hill UMC, Centennial, CO |
replacement of fluorescent lights with energy-efficient LED lights |
St. Luke's UMC, Highlands Ranch, CO |
energy audit and implementation |
St. Pauls UMC, Helena, MT |
energy audit and implementation |
The Land, Aurora, CO |
installation of solar power |
Wesley Foundation, Boulder, CO |
containers and plants for community container garden |
Wesley House, Missoula, MT |
window replacement |