Refugia Sighting
We’re delighted that our new website gives us the opportunity to feature our CCFW faculty. Today, we share thoughts from Debra Rienstra, a writer and professor of literature at Calvin University and a faculty fellow with the Calvin Center for Faith & Writing.
This piece originally appeared in her SubStack, Refugia Newsletter, back in April, and we thought it was the perfect way to introduce you to her work related to the climate movement. Every two weeks, via her newsletter, Debra chooses a couple top stories to summarize (including links to go deeper) and looks for the ways that people of faith, especially Christians, are working to address the climate crisis. We encourage you to engage with her work by subscribing to her newsletter here.
Jim Bargmann, Judy Hinck, Elaine Halbardier, Art Halbardier, Mark Pipkorn and his grandson John Regan, Beth Gaede (my editor at Fortress for Refugia Faith, now retired!), and me. Thanks to Ron for all these photos.
Last weekend, I had the privilege of interviewing a group of terrific people at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ron and I had so much fun!
I will write much more about this as I work on the Refugia Church manuscript this summer. Also, Ron and I recorded an interview with one church leader, Judy Hinck, for the Refugia Podcast. I’ll let you know when that comes out this fall.
For now, I’ll simply highlight some of what Mount Olive has accomplished. It all started years ago, we were told, by switching away from styrofoam cups. Then came LED lights. By 2015, their Global Ministry Committee was attending to the Paris Climate Accord and to Pope Francis’s Laudato si’ and wondering what they were called to do in response—and that’s when action took off.
People in the congregation, particularly a group of lay leaders, were becoming more aware of climate change and the need for climate justice. Meanwhile, their sanctuary—a glorious 1929 cathedral-style—was just unbearably hot in the summer. And of course: their boiler was dying.
A gorgeous sanctuary!
We were able to worship with the congregation on Palm Sunday. They are a progressive congregation with high-church liturgy: smells, bells, and all. We loved it. And we loved the eager participation of the congregants. These people SING!
Within 17 months, between early 2016 and mid-2017, they had moved from “how do we finally cool this sanctuary?” to installing solar panels and geothermal! They did it with help from Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, excellent communication to achieve congregational buy-in, a loan from the ELCA, a state grant they won through a lottery (truly!), and a lot of work by dedicated and smart people.
One of the moments the group all recalled with pride took place at a congregational meeting while they were still pondering exactly how to solve their HVAC issues. Leaders asked the folks assembled: even if it costs more to do geothermal, should we do it? The answer was an undisputed yes: because it’s the right thing to do.
It’s so inspiring to talk to people like this. I loved touring the building with Art Halbardier, a pastor who joined the congregation after his retirement and has been instrumental in leading the work on the energy upgrades. The group as a whole radiated joy over their ongoing climate work, even while laughing about how hard it is to get people to use the kitchen composting system correctly.
It looks like a regular parking lot, but underneath there are geothermal wells that power heating and cooling for the sanctuary and several other of the largest spaces in the church. The parking lot also features some native plantings and rain gardens—not very visible in April!
Mount Olive is not a posh, suburban church. They are just a few blocks from where George Floyd was murdered in 2020, and only a block from Lake Street, where protests turned violent that summer. The neighborhood is revitalizing, thanks largely to the Somali and Mexican immigrant communities, and Mount Olive seeks to partner well with their neighbors through relationships and numerous ministries.
They know they have more to do in their climate work, but they are already doing so many things right. I especially love their “Gentle with the Earth” theme. They seek to “pass … decisions through the sieve of questions: Is this beautiful? How will this affect the earth, those who have no voice or power, and the next generations?”
If you want to explore more, here’s an article about their 2017 renovations, here’s their Climate Justice webpage, and here’s their 2017 Gentle with the Earth statement. Many thanks to these good folks for all their generous hospitality during our visit!
