During the summer of 2024, Plymouth Congregational Church realized a longtime dream of installing solar panels on the roof of the sanctuary. Not only will these solar panels save the congregation money in the long run, they will also help to reduce our carbon footprint, which is so needed in a climate that keeps getting warmer every year. The solar panels were installed over the course of a few days, and began generating electricity on July 26. To date, our solar panels have generated more than 4.7 MWh of electricity, saving us over $700, and reducing our CO2 emissions by 7,300 lbs. This is the equivalent of planting 55 trees. We are expecting the panels to pay for themselves within the next 5 years.

Before we were able install anything, we had to replace the over 60-year-old roof, so that it could support the weight of the solar panels. The children of Little Sprouts Daycare were able to watch the workers install the panels, and learn about the benefits of solar power. They, and all of the children of the world, are of course the reason that we felt the need to change the way that we meet our energy needs. Many of us have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and other young people who are important to us that will be living on this planet long after we are gone. I often think about the world that my 2-year-old niece will be inheriting, and I want to do what I can to make sure that it is as beautiful and life-giving for her as I can make it.

This was not an inexpensive project, and it required a lot of planning. The congregation had to do significant fundraising, and we secured two grants, including one from Northwestern Energy. Because of the cost, there were several times when we worried about how long it would take to get the solar panels installed, but this was something that the congregation believed in, so with God’s help, we kept working towards our goal until it became a reality.

Creation care is an important part of our faith, and it’s important that people of faith join the fight to save our planet. We believe that the Earth is a gift from God, and the way that we treat the Earth is a reflection of our relationship with God. God created the Earth to sustain us and inspire us, to protect us and to fill our lives with joy. It cannot do all of these things if the way it has functioned for millennia come to an end. Our climate is rapidly changing, and human activity is disrupting many of the natural cycles that regulate our planet, including the water cycle, the carbon cycle, and the recently discovered salt cycle. These are the processes by which various chemicals and elements cycle through the ground, water, and atmosphere of the Earth. Before human involvement, erosion, sedimentation, weather, and other forces moved these chemicals and elements around at a rate that had, for the most part, seen only gradual changes for millions of years. It wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that these cycles began to see rapid change. Left unchecked, the changes in these cycles will have a drastic effect on our way of life, leading to extreme weather and the extinction of species across the globe. This will cause not only more disruption to the Earth’s natural cycles, but more disruption to our way of life, and indeed, the loss of human life.

Unlike fossil fuels, the sun can provide all of our energy needs without adding carbon dioxide to our atmosphere. This means that we can still have the modern conveniences that come with electricity, without the continued negative impact that fossil fuels have on the world that we live in.

 We are well past the 400 parts per million of CO2 in our atmosphere that climate scientists warned us the was the point of no return, but that does not mean all hope is lost. The future of the world is not livable or unlivable; it’s not that black and white. It’s a spectrum. How bad do we want things to get? How hard are we going to work to mitigate the worst possible outcomes? If we all work together to reduce the amount of carbon we are releasing into our atmosphere, if we pass sensible laws that put our collective livelihood ahead of corporate profits, if we think about the generations that will inherit the Earth after us, then we might just be able to save ourselves.

~ Rev. Charles Wei

Originally published in the Independent Record on January 11, 2025