Jessica Maudlin was among faith leaders convening on climate, clean energy and environmental justice
October 15, 2024
Jessica Maudlin of the Presbyterian Hunger Program attended the White House faith Leaders Convening on Climate, Clean Energy and Environmental Justice. (Contributed photo)
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) recently held a White House Faith Leaders Convening on Climate, Clean Energy and Environmental Justice.
The event, attended by Jessica Maudlin, associate for Sustainability and Earth Care Concerns in the Presbyterian Hunger Program, along with other board members and staff of Creation Justice Ministries, gathered faith leaders and representatives of faith-based organizations from across the country, with the goal of discussing opportunities to benefit from and further engage their communities on President Biden’s climate, clean energy and environmental justice agenda.
That agenda includes Direct Pay, a novel provision provided through the Inflation Reduction Act that enables tax-exempt entities, including houses of worship, to benefit from federal clean energy tax incentives. Participants at the 226th General Assembly learned more about Direct Pay during the Environmental Justice Committee’s presentation when Ronald Newman addressed the Assembly and during a recent Presbyterians for Earth Care webinar.
The event recognized faith leaders for their unique ability to connect their communities with the information, resources, and support needed to create a more equitable and just clean energy future.
“It was truly an honor to be gathered together at the White House with so many people of faith,” said Maudlin. “I get to do this work with Presbyterians, day in and day out, but to be reminded again that we are not alone in our commitment to care for Creation and to see the ways in which policy and federal funding can support those commitments was so encouraging. People of faith truly bring something special to this shared vocation of ours.”
White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi pointed out that post-pandemic, houses of worship have been faced with what he called powerful head winds, citing less giving, being asked to do more with less, increased prices of energy costs and unprecedented heat waves requiring more use of energy. And despite all of that, Zaidi said, people of faith are asking themselves, “Are we powerful enough to deliver the services our most vulnerable need? Do we have the ability to be the light that is still on while the storm is raging?”
Board members for Creation Justice Ministries, including Jessica Maudlin, second from right, pose for a group photo. (Contributed photo)
Participants also heard from several church and nonprofit leaders as they shared success stories and best practices for leveraging Direct Pay and other federal investments.
RE-volv Executive Director Andreas Karelas was one such leader. As he started to share, he pointed out a wall sculpture hanging in the ornate gathering room. An angel holding a gear, keys and a toolbelt graced the sculpture. Karelas drew the comparison between the artwork and the work of faith leaders in the room having all the tools and keys to creating a just and equitable transition. Solar panels are just one of the ways houses of worship can be part of the transition to clean energy. He went on to share data from a Berkeley Lab study that indicates that the result of one house of worship installing solar panels could translate to as many as 80 residential installations over the next five years.
The Rev. Betty Holley, a presiding elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the Ohio Conference, a professor of environmental ethics at Payne Theological Seminary and another member of CJM’s board who also attended the meeting, shared that she was struck by another example of Direct Pay utilization: battery storage updates, which allow houses of worship to retain energy even when power grids are hit.
“One group talked about how they became a resilient community church. People could come to them to get their phones recharged, to get their medication stored in a battery-operated refrigerated machine, both of which were one of the church’s projects through this IRA initiative,” Holley said.
Holley believes that religious leaders should be a “beacon” for their communities in the environmental movement.
“We’re looking toward sustainability. How can we sustain ourselves on Earth?” she said. “You know, we all have but one home and one future.”
Jessica Maudlin, Associate for Sustainable Living and Earth Care Concerns, Presbyterian Hunger Program
Daily Readings
Today’s Focus: Jessica Maudlin was among faith leaders convening on climate, clean energy and environmental justice
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Keren Strothman, Mission Specialist II, Theology, Formation & Evangelism, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Shawnda Styles, Client Services Specialists, Presbyterian Foundation
Let us pray
Dear Creator, help us make every day one of celebration of and protection for your creation. For all the wonders of Creation, we give thanks. Help us remember members of Creation, human and non-human, who are threatened. Give us strength to stand up for the most vulnerable, who are the most affected by environmental degradation.
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