Co-Chair: Rev. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Creation Care Committee reaches out to all congregations in Carmel to raise awareness and encourage active stewardship of God's creation by sharing events, and providing resources and network opportunities.

The faith community has led every major movement of moral consequence. People of all faiths are going green nationwide and in Indiana.

Along with Indianapolis Interfaith Coalition and Bloomington Earth Care, we continue work to develop an Indiana interfaith coalition for earth care.  We will be affiliating with Interfaith Power and Light, a national interfaith earth stewardship coalition.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Earth Day Sermon
Epworth United Methodist Church will celebrate caring for God's Creation at the Earth Sunday service on Sunday, April 21, 2013. Services are at 8:45 a.m. (traditional service) and 11:00 a.m. (contemporary). Pastor Bill Hoopes will give a sermon on Earth care and stewardship as part of the National IPL "preach-in".  For more information, visit the Epworth website.

Recycle Event at St. Mark's
St. Mark’s is once again partnering with RecycleForce for an e-waste recycling event in honor of Earth Day on Saturday, April 20 from 9 am to 1 pm. Read more.

Prayer Walk for Indy's Energy Future
Monday, March 18, 2013, noon-12:30 p.m.
Please RSVP and send question to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Hoosier Interfaith Power & Light is organizing a prayer walk on Monday, March 18, from noon-12:30 p.m. to highlight an important decision before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) on Indianapolis Power & Light's request to use at least a half billion dollars of customers’ money to install expensive technology on its aging Harding Street coal-fired power plant on Indy's Southside and IPL's Petersburg coal-fired plant. As the IURC deliberates whether to allow IPL to raise rates and continue to burn coal for decades to come, faith leaders and citizens are praying for wisdom and justice and a future free of climate-altering coal pollution.  The walk will proceed from outside IPL headquarters on One Monument Circle to the building where the IURC is hearing evidence in the IPL rate case. POSTPONED

Climate Change and Health
Wednesday, November 14, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
First Congregational United Church of Christ
7171 N, Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis
Climate change is now doing far more damage than marooning polar bears on melting chunks of ice -- it is damaging the health of people around the world. Science journalist Dan Ferber worked with a Harvard Medical School physician to collect stories of real people with cutting edge scientific and medical information in places like Mozambique, Honduras, and the United States. Dan will speak about how climate change is altering patterns of disease, including cholera, malaria, Lyme disease, asthma, and other health threats. Dan's award-winning book, Changing Planet, Changing Health, also delivers a suite of innovative solutions for shaping a healthy and enlightened global economy for the twenty-first century. Read more.

An Evening with Scott Russell Sanders: “Caring for Creation”
Sunday, October 28,  2012 - 7pm
St. Mark’s United Methodist Church (126th and Grey)
See event flier .

Green Funerals Workshop
Did you know that the average cemetery buries:

• 100,000 gallons of embalming fluid
• 97.5 tons of steel
• 2,028 tons of concrete
• 56,250 board-feet of high quality wood…

in just one acre?

Did you know that it’s estimated that the amount of fossil fuel used to cremate in the United States would fuel a trip to the moon and back 84 times each year?

Is there an alternative?

Learn about green funerals, green burial options, anatomical gifts and other end-of-life planning at the next Indianapolis Green Congregations workshop.

• When: Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 7 p.m.
• Where: Washington Park North Cemetery Funeral Center, 2706 Kessler Blvd W Dr Indianapolis, IN 46228
• Hosted by: Barbara Milton, Flanner & Buchanan Funeral Centers

Event will include a tour of the green burial ground at Washington Park North.

Register at: www.ikecoalition.org/events

Earth Day Sermon
Epworth United Methodist Church will celebrate caring for God's Creation at the Earth Sunday service on Sunday, April 22, 2012. Services are at 8:45 a.m. (traditional service) and 11:00 a.m. (contemporary).   Pastor Bill Hoopes will give a sermon on Earth care and stewardship.   Epworth will also launch the Energizing Indiana program.    For more information, visit the Epworth website.

Greening your Congregation
Indianapolis Green Congregation is offering a workshop to help you make your church or congregation more energy efficient, save monay and go green. March 20th from 7-9 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis.  Read more

Epworth Eco-Film Series
Epworth United Methodist Church will be screening the eco-film "Age of Stupid" on Friday, March 9th at 7 p.m.  It's free, as is the popcorn.  Geared more toward high school students and adults, the Age of Stupid stars Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite as a man living in the devastated future world of 2055, looking back at old footage from our time and asking: why didn't we stop climate change when we had a chance? Read more.

Awakening the Dreamer
St. Luke's United Methodist Church will host the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium on Saturday, March 10 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  This symposium is a profound inquiry into a bold vision: to bring forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on Earth. You will gain fresh insight about our world, meet like-minded people, find hope and inspiration and leave clear how you can help create a new future. For more information, contact Amy at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Epworth United Methodist Church will celebrate caring for God's Creation at the Earth Sunday service on Sunday, April 10, 2011. Services are at 8:45 a.m. (traditional service) and 11:00 a.m. (contemporary).   Rev. Dennis Shock will be preaching at both services about caring for God's creation.   Epworth also will be launching a Task of the Month program to help members conserve energy and save on utility bills. This program is sponsored by Hoosier Interfaith Power & Light.   Children's Sunday School at 10:00 also will have an Earth Day theme.  For more information, visit the Epworth website.

HOOSIER IPL launched on Saturday, March 5, 2011 at the
First Baptist Church  8600 N. College Ave. Indianapolis.  Hoosiers of all faiths from Indiana joined to

• celebrate God’s creation through worship and song,
• issue a call to reduce energy use in our homes and congregations,
• introduce tools to help us in this calling, and
• plan creation care initiatives in our communities and denominations

Read more

Epworth United Methodist Church hosts Green Energy - Green Jobs Town Hall Meeting,  January 7, 2010  6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Indianapolis Green Congregations will sponsor a workshop on environmental stewardship on Saturday, June 5, 2010.  Details to come.

St. Paul's Epsicopal  Green Fair & Computer Recycling Drive - There will be educational materials, books, plants, market items (pies, scones, soups, breads, cheese straws), and “green” goods (bat houses, reusable bags, Caring for Creation t-shirts). Bring your old computers, monitors and printers, which will benefit the Wings for West Africa program. Saturday, September 18, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. in St. Paul’s parking lot.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis is hosting a workshop to green you congregation on October 19.  October is Energy Awareness Month.  This free, educational event about ways your congregation can go green will help reduce energy expenses.  Please share this information with your green ministry, or the green team or maintenance person at your congregation.  Read more

Enlglewood Christian Sustainable Agriculture - Englewood Christian Church has invited several speakers to lead a conversation reflecting church, place, food, community and agriculture on October 29 – 30, 2010

Indianapolis Green Congregations is organzing the second "Walbicus" to Workship Weekend on October 29-31. Congregations of every faith are encouraged to ask their members to find ways to use less fuel during their travel to worship services.  This event not only helps reduce consumption of gas and oil; it also unifies people of faith toward the common goal of caring for creation. Read more.

• Orchard Park Presbyterian Church
  Caring for Creation lecture series.
  Making church grounds more environmentally friendly under programs
  Hosting a Recycling Drive
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• St. Luke's United Methodist Church
  Green Ministry
  Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  
  
• Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis
  Green Sanctuary 
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• Epworth United Methodist Church
  Green Team, Monthly Movie Series, and Recycled Threads Fashion Show
  Contact:  Jodi Perras  Phone: 251-1481
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• Grace Community Church
  Learn about Grace Garden and CSA
  
  
• St. Christopher Episcapalian Church
  St. Christopher's Crops and Feeding Ministry
  
  

• Encourage parishioners to partake in Carmel’s residential  trash and recycling program. Participating in the city's program is a simple way we can be good stewards of God's planet and save our energy resources. The program also offers many benefits to Carmel residents. Read more

• Form a green team, green ministry or green sanctuary
• Connect with the Hoosier Chapter Interfaith Power & Light
• Include a worship, sermon or teaching on stewardship of God's creation
• Host an event to explore the biblical foundations for Caring for Creation.

• Host a Living Lean & Green Workshop

• Conduct an energy audit for your church
  • Green Team Audit
  • Green Sanctuary Manual
  • ELCA Environmental Audit Guide
• Start a recycling program at your congregation
• Host an Artist's Rendition of Global Warming and its Effects
• Organize a tree planting event - Urban Forestry/Neighborwoods Program
• Start a community garden
• Organize a fundraising event to change to energy efficient CFL's at your congregation
• Implement a church grounds conservation plan - contact Shaena Smith at www.hamiltonswcd.org for a free assessment of your church grounds.
• The National Council of Churches of Christ Eco-Justice Program has a wealth of resources on many aspects of climate change and other environmental issues.  They have published 2010 Earth Day Sunday Resources .
  

Over 60 Indiana church congregations were represented at the Green Congregations Workshop at Second Presbyterian Church on January 31, 2009. Churches from the Carmel area included:

• Orchard Park Presbyterian Church
• Carmel United Methodist Church
• St. Marks United Methodist Church
• Hazel Dell Christian Church
• St. Christopher's Episcobal Church
• Carmel Lutheran Church.

The presentations from the Workshop are available to view or download at 2009 Green Congregations Workshop

Contact us if you need help forming a creation care program in your church and/or let us know what your church is currently doing - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .