Hampton church leads by example on climate change
The environment is back in the news with the massive suffering from Gulf
Coast flooding and western wildfires. Throw in a pandemic, economic collapse and political polarization, and it all feels very overwhelming.
As a Catholic priest residing in a hurricane-vulnerable area and trying to live gently on God’s good earth, I would like to offer some words of encouragement for continuing to do what we can.
A couple years ago, our parish, Immaculate Conception in Hampton, started exploring how we could cut our carbon footprint and go solar. We Catholics have a prayer in which a person acknowledges shortcomings “in what I have done and in what I have failed to do.” We saw something good we could do to decrease our contribution to climate disruption, and we felt it would be a sin to fail to do it. We found an organization called Catholic Energies to help make it happen, at no cost to the parish.
Last year, we installed 440 solar panels on the roof of the church. We made a full and immediate transition to clean energy, cutting 230 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, equivalent to the output of 25 homes. Now, every time parishioners enter our house of worship, they are reminded that we are caring for God’s earth.
Our parish’s monthly bills today are 13% lower, amounting to $125,000 in savings over the next 15 years. We are seeing many ripple effects. That money is going far in support of our community programs, including tending to the needs of the elderly and our neighbors with food insecurity. Our parishioners are proud to be the first in our diocese liberated from reliance on fossil fuels, and many are taking steps to reduce their own carbon footprints at home, including going solar. Several Catholic parishes in our diocese are now in the process of also obtaining solar.
A powerful thing happens in us when we do something positive in the world. Pope Francis, in his ecological encyclical letter Laudato Si, released five years ago, said, “We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it.”
Being good and decent is absolutely worth it. The Daily Press quoted me when we celebrated the solar installation: “Taking care of God’s creation is an act of gratitude.” I enthusiastically believe that. Each of us has received abundant gifts, and the way we show our gratitude is by caring for the earth so future generations can also prosper. That is our gift back to God. If you are not particularly religious, I still promise: You will have greater happiness if you live with a spirit of gratitude and generosity.
Life has felt overwhelming for a long time now. In the Laudato Si document, Pope Francis talks about the story of Noah. When everything seemed wicked, and the floodwaters were rising, God continued to work through Noah to create a new beginning. “All it takes is one good person to restore hope,” the pope says.
It turns out, the solar panels a year ago were a starting point. Parishioners are excited now to take on more hope-restoring projects like carbon offsets with African farmers.
Hope is not a one-off. It multiplies! May each of us do what we can to restore a little bit of hope in our neighborhood, in our corner of the city, in our common home.
Rev. John Grace is the pastor of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Hampton.