I was a pastor for 17 years in Detroit and I’ve been pastoring here for 4 years as of October 1st. When I explored transitioning to Atlanta from Detroit, I wondered if the church called “Community Church,” really has  community as  part of their DNA. I have found it certainly to be a truly community-focused congregation. When our community center began, we gave away groceries to  about 30 to 40 families per week. Now that we have partnered with the Atlanta Community Food Bank to buy our food through them, we have expanded to feed about 300 to 400 families per week.  Our food bank only requires an ID for reporting purposes, we don't ask people if they believe in the Lord Jesus or not, their marital status, gender, orientation or other things. On a given Sunday, our in-person attendance is about 125  members; so we are not a mega church but we do a mega ministry. We have been blessed to do so. In the community center, we've also held blood drives, COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, and provided lower cost medical screenings. We’ve worked with Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy Elementary School  down the street. We also have significant  neighborhood organizations use our community  center including Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan, INC. and the City of Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Unit-S.
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When I got to Community Church, one of the things that I shared with members was the language of “pastoring the community”. I started with the idea of, what are the type of things that the members want or desire for me as a pastor? They want me to be present. They want me to care for them. If they're in trouble they want to be able to turn to me and be encouraged by me. So that is what I want our church to be for our community. When life gets hard, I want them to be able to turn to us. So, we have to have a reputation for being servants in the community. However, all of that doesn't necessarily mean conversions or attempts to convert people to our faith. I am unapologetically Christian and I unashamedly deal with people of faith and of no faith. 

MJ: What is your resilience hub project and what inspired it?

​RKE: Being that our community center is really what folks recognize, even more than the church right next door, and with that good reputation, we were approached by Groundswell. Since a resilience hub is turned into a trusted space, they were looking for places that are already trusted by folks in the neighborhood and someone recommended they speak with us. We started conversing with Groundswell in March or May of 2023. We signed the documents in February/March of this year and they started construction on the solar system in early June 2024 and for the most part, were done by July. We have one final system test to do for Georgia Power, and then we'll be completely operational. 

A variety of different groups came to be a part of this effort, which was ultimately around a $450,000 project. Strident energy donated a battery to us. With the Inflation Reduction Act tax direct pay, we will be able to file our taxes next year, and get back $100,000 that will allow us to own our system. We will be the first privately-owned resilience hub in Georgia. That means we're going to experience all of the electric bill savings from solar power, around $6,000 annually. This savings will help us supplement some of the other things we’re doing so that we can continue and add additional programming. We're certainly grateful for that. 
We are working with the City of Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Unit S, neighborhood leaders, and a University of Michigan student group to help us survey our neighbors about what kind of programming they want the Hub to offer. This will allow local residents to feel a sense of ownership. Ultimately, if the power goes out in an emergency, people can come and refrigerate their medication, breast milk, and charge their cell phones or other devices. If there was no sun and it rained the entire week, our system would be able to run for three days because of the backup battery power; otherwise, our building will have power for several weeks during a long-lasting power outage.

During a White House meeting I was invited to, they shared that typically when a church installs a solar system to its building, up to 80 homes in the neighborhood add on solar, so our installation may create a ripple effect. We certainly hope that others will see that and follow. I also hope to add EV charging stations to our campus, since we’re in a charging desert right now. We are newer to this environmental justice space, though it falls in line with our overall goals and passion for community. So we are trying to partner with organizations who have been doing this work such as Green the Church and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network. 

MJ: How does the project encourage “faithful resilience?”

RKE: Our tagline is to “Live Different”. I describe living differently as experiencing life as God intends. Some might call it Kingdom living - to step outside of the patterns that people have of selfishness and just doing whatever makes them feel good or makes them powerful. To “Live Different” means embracing God's call in our life to be countercultural. Part of that is to not only address personal sin but also address what I call social sin, or sinful structures, including the systems that are set up to cause people to be oppressed or marginalized. Our mission is not only to call people to live better individual lives, but to make society itself more just and equitable for all.  ​

I recently heard about the idea of tree equity, where in some places, poorer neighborhoods and sometimes minority neighborhoods, there are less trees, more concrete, and less playgrounds. Since trees are nature's air conditioning units, people who have fewer trees have to pay more in electricity, which means more emissions and more asthma; it's a domino effect. Extreme heat and extreme weather events put people who are lower income at more risk than others. By having our Hub here, people who may not be able to drive away to another city in extreme weather events, or go to a hotel when the power goes out, will have a place to at least charge their cell phones, and get heat or air conditioning when needed right here in the neighborhood. I can’t accept a society that says if you don’t have a lot of money you’ll get the worst education, the worst tree canopy, and so on.  

MJ: What would you tell someone interested in completing a similar project?

RKE: I would tell them to be found doing the work. Have the kind of reputation that people feel that they will have dignity dealing with you. In the work, we have to make sure we speak to and treat folks like they have the value that God gave them. They have the image of God in them, regardless of their status. The truth is, one bad accident, one bad hurricane, one hacked account and any of us could be in a bad position one day.

I think Groundswell is a great organization with their vision of helping set up resilience hubs to combat the impacts of climate change throughout the nation. Interested folks should look at solar, as an individual or a nonprofit. Because of the Inflation Reduction Act, places like churches can get a “Direct Pay,” which amounts to a 30% rebate, in layman terms. If you spend $200,000 on a solar system and complete the pre-registration when you submit your taxes, the government will provide a $60,000 check. Previously, nonprofits like churches would not be able to get that check, so this is the government’s tool to help with clean energy efforts. Homeowners who add solar to their home are eligible for a rebate as well. I would encourage people to explore these avenues to get started.

MJ: What is something you would like the Creation Justice community to know? 
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RKE: I believe that part of being stewards of the Earth is to acknowledge that the Lord put things in perfect balance. Unfortunately, as humans, we upset that balance to some degree. If we can do what’s possible to reverse the effects that we've had, so things can operate as they were originally intended, it will be helpful. Not only for us now, but for our children, and for those who may not have the capacity to take care of themselves. 

Molly Johnson (MJ) spoke with Gary White (GW), Lead of Environmental Justice Ministry for the Congregational Church of San Mateo on the potential conversion of his church’s community center into a resilience hub. 

​Our church board is supportive of the idea and wants us to explore and investigate the cost and commitment required. Then we started working with our local Red Cross. They play the key  role on resilient hubs anywhere in the US. The Red Cross is set up and very supportive of organizations, especially churches or community organizations with facilities, to be resilient hubs. The Red Cross here in San Mateo said that once we set up a hub, they'd be able to lead it. They will send one or two representatives to our Center right after an emergency to help us coordinate and run it. The Red Cross will provide hot meals, insurance for people that would be here at the resilient hub, a reimbursement for some material costs, blankets, and cots. We certainly will also need a number of volunteers, people from the church that we're recruiting, to be able to run it. We're also going to need a program manager, likely someone from our environmental justice committee. So right now we are identifying what the volunteer roles will be, write them up, recruit volunteers and then train people to be volunteers. The Red Cross will be providing first aid training and resiliency training free of charge to our volunteers. 

MJ: What would you tell someone interested in completing a similar project?

GW: The important thing, whether or not your church has solar, is if you have enough space in your facility to be able to support a hub? I would say you have to have a community room that should probably be ~1000 square feet. I'm sure it could be smaller, but that's what we have. You are then in a position to set up stations for electrical device recharging, for feeding, and for hosting people to rest or stay over. Having the solar system and battery system already set up was a contributing factor to our project because we can provide stored renewable electricity for about three days. But I wouldn't dissuade any congregation that doesn't have solar to consider being a resilient hub, because they certainly could. What they wouldn't be able to do as easily is provide emergency power to charge an electrical vehicle, charge cell phones or computers, but they would still be able to provide a refuge for the community. 
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I would encourage people to visit the United Church of Christ (UCC) central group website that's collecting resources about this. People can also certainly come to me and we can update them on what we're doing. There are plenty of resources on the internet about resilient hubs. You can put your toe in the water by just exploring it, thinking about it, talking to a few church members, even if you don't have a green team or environmental justice team, and building support that way, and then contacting the local Red Cross or the county emergency services group. When we reached out to the Red Cross, they were very responsive and supportive. 

MJ: What is something you would like the Creation Justice community to know?

GW: I want to let them know that this is a relatively simple, low tech action the church can take to provide environmental and climate support to local communities and members, and by doing that, provide a really valuable service.

​The land is so dry that it can no longer produce wheat or olives. When the land suffers, the people suffer as well—usually the poor first. In this story, it is the widow and her son who feel the brunt of it. This situation raises many questions: Why is the land so dry? Why is Elijah sent to get help from a widow who isn’t an Israelite? Or help from a poor person during a famine? And why doesn’t God make it rain?

In 1 Kings 16:29-34, we learn about King Ahab, who "did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him." He worships other gods and considers building Jericho worth the life of his firstborn son. Later, in chapter 18, we read that he kills prophets, destroys God’s altars, and establishes Baal and Asherah as the nation's religious figures. Ahab not only leads himself astray but also leads Israel into sin. We see further evidence of his corruption in 1 Kings 21, where he murders an innocent man, Naboth, to seize his vineyard. It seems the drought was a consequence of Ahab’s sin (1 Kings 17:1). But why must everyone  suffer because of some people’s actions?

During the drought, Elijah is fed first by ravens and then by a widow—both unlikely sources of sustenance. As the story tells us, the widow and her son were on the brink of starvation, preparing their final meal. Yet, she still offers Elijah water and places her trust in the Lord. She surprises us, even though she isn’t an Israelite, she gives all she has to this stranger who is hungry and thirsty, following the law of Moses. She knows the law when King Ahab does not. Her faith is remarkable, and God honors it by miraculously providing food for all three of them until the drought ends.

In the Gospel reading, we meet another widow who gives all she has to God, doing so silently and in full faith, with no expectation of reward from the people around her. This contrasts sharply with the scribes who flaunt their wealth and generosity while neglecting the poor. The scribes give to God out of their abundance; their giving doesn’t require real sacrifice. But the widow offers her entire livelihood. She is another widow who surprises us, she is the example of faith and the law over the scribes who study the law all day. 

What does acting like these widows look like for creation justice, especially when the president-elect has called climate change “a hoax” and, during his most recent campaign, promised to expand fossil fuel production, roll back environmental protections, and stop federal support for clean energy? Why must the drought come upon everyone?

The widows teach us what it means to trust God, regardless of who is in power or who else might be providing for them. We learn that, after some time, the widow of Zarephath’s son dies, and Elijah raises him from the dead. But beyond that, we don’t know how her story ends—or the end of the story for the widow in Mark. Did God continue to provide for them? The stories leave us wondering: how did the widow in Mark live after giving away all she had? Their stories remind us that our call is to be faithful, regardless of the outcome. The focus of these stories isn’t the end result, but the honoring of these two poor, faithful widows as examples for us. We don’t know their names, yet their stories endure, with Jesus himself recalling the widow of Zarephath (Luke 4:26), and with us still speaking of both of them today. We have hope that “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them” (Heb 6:10).

These widows, as leaders in the faith, offer us an image of what it looks like to be faithful. The widow with Elijah shows generosity to a stranger even when she does not have food for herself or her son, trusting that God will fulfill the promise to sustain them until the end of the drought. We, too, have been promised that God desires God’s kingdom on earth, a place where the poor are cared for, where everyone has enough to eat, and where creation flourishes. The widows show us that what often feels small can make a big impact. They teach us what it means to give our whole selves to God and to others– not to the point of burnout or self-neglect, but understanding that working for change often requires sacrifices that may be uncomfortable, that may challenge us, or that may require financial generosity that leaves us in a place of trust. They help us understand what it means to live in God’s economy.

Both of these widows were seen by God and by God’s people, giving us hope when we come together in faith. And both widows trusted God for their daily bread, bread that comes from the earth. May we, too, be open to the ways God can surprise us as we pray:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.



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Caroline Hiler is a Seminary Intern at Creation Justice Ministries

Dear friends,

We are a people fit for this moment. 
In the second creation story, the human is given a sacred task: to keep and till the garden. Rabbis and other Hebrew scholars tell us that the verb we translate as "keep" can just as easily mean "guard" or "protect". This keeping is akin to a shepherd watching over sheep or a beekeeper tending to their hive. It is an oversight rooted not in domination, but in love - a dedication to stand between that which God has given us and those who would destroy it.

We were meant to be Creation's protectors. Wednesday morning, we woke up to a reality where that role will become much harder. Protections for the places we love will likely be rolled back. Regulations intended to protect frontline communities will likely be removed. There may even be discouragement from using terms like "climate change" in the halls of government. To the extent that we ever did, those of us who care for God's Creation will not find a listening ear in places of power.

Though we never wanted this reality, and many of us worked tirelessly against its coming, it is now upon us. And while we may have dreamed of a smoother path forward, the way ahead could not be more clear. Creation's cry has become a full-throated scream.
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Over the last few months there has been a quote that has given me a lot of clarity around the work of Creation Justice Ministries: “In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught.”

These words were spoken by Senegalese conservationist Baba Dioum. He said this around the same time that Dr. King was trying to move the American conscience toward greater unity and justice. Our work is that of educating people of faith about their place in God's Creation. Our hope is that education turns into understanding, that understanding turns into love and that love turns into action. 

I'm from Pittsburgh, so naturally, one of my heroes is a man by the name of Rev. Dr. Fred Rogers. Mr. Rogers was ordained to his position as a children's television host and while he was many things to children...educator, pastor, friend... he was above all a fierce advocate and protector of them. After his death, footage resurfaced of a senate hearing from 1969 where a young Fred Rogers sat before a hostile senate committee and defended the legitimacy of both his show and the entire enterprise of public broadcasting. It remains to me one of the clearest images of advocacy rooted in love. 

That is the work ahead of us. It's neither to shrink back in fear nor to strike out in hate, but to preach, teach, pray, gather, speak, and act in love.
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In short, while the obstacles are more clear, the work is the same as it's ever been: Seek justice for God's planet and God's people.

The story of the greatest commandment unfolds differently in Mark than in the more familiar account in Luke. In Luke (10:25-37), an expert in the law asks, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan, turning the question around by asking, “Who was a neighbor?” The scribe correctly answers, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus redefines “neighbor” as not just someone from our own community, but anyone to whom we extend mercy. It’s uncertain whether the accounts in Mark and Luke are separate incidents or different versions of the same story, but both passages guide us in understanding the heart of the greatest commandments and how they work together. Loving God and loving our neighbor means showing mercy to everyone (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)—a service that God values more than any burnt offering or sacrifice.

This perspective invites us to broaden our understanding of “neighbor.” When I step outside, my neighbors include not only the people in my building but also the maples, oaks, pine trees, squirrels, robins, and sparrows—each of us sharing the same space, all sustained by the breath of God. Jesus’ words in both Mark and Luke suggest that our focus shouldn’t be on “Who is my neighbor?” or “How much does God expect me to sacrifice?” but rather, “How can I be transformed by my love for God to show mercy to all around me?” Loving our neighbor extends to caring for creation, which, in turn, benefits our human neighbors by providing food, water, green spaces, safety, and shelter.

This weekend, we celebrated All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. Traditionally, All Saints’ Day honors saints or martyrs who have passed away and don’t have their own feast days, while All Souls’ Day commemorates all who have died. We can honor our neighbors by celebrating those saints who fought for climate action, assisted farmers, developed solar technology for villages, or established community gardens in their churches. While it’s debated whether animals or plants have souls, these days remind us to honor all lives that have been lost to extinction—usually due to our lack of mercy. Many species, such as the Yangtze River Dolphin, the Northern White Rhinoceros, and the Spix Macaw, have disappeared solely due to humans: overfishing, poaching, habitat loss, and illegal trade. Since 1900, nearly three species of seed-bearing plants have vanished per year—a rate 500 times faster than natural extinction. Remembering these losses isn’t only an act of grief and honor; it’s an opportunity for repentance and healing.

How do we move forward with the weight of this collective guilt, sadness, and pain for our mistreatment of our neighbor? One way is by remembering our High Priest, who “through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purifying our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!” Worship that pleases God, as we see, is grounded in love for our neighbor. In Jeremiah 12, it says, “Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard and trample down my field; they will turn my pleasant field into a desolate wasteland. It will be made a wasteland, parched and desolate before me; the whole land will be laid waste because there is no one who cares.” Similarly, in Genesis 4:10, Abel’s blood cries out from the ground, and Numbers 35:33-34 warns, “Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.”
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These words could apply today, as the Holy Spirit dwells among us, yet the land is polluted by our sin. Through Jesus’ blood and His role as our High Priest, atonement is made not only for our sins but also to cleanse the land, embodying God’s mercy to all creation, every neighbor.



Caroline Hiler is a Seminary Intern at Creation Justice Ministries

https://climatechangeresources.org/learn-more/science/extinction/plants/

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