St. Luke’s UMC in Indianapolis received the Creation Care award for Education and Advocacy. St. Luke’s UMC has served communities around Indiana through its volunteer-led Creation Care ministry since 2007. The church initiated a variety of programs in education, advocacy, and recycling.
In 2018, St. Luke’s UMC hosted an E-Waste management event, where they provided free recycling, with the option of a donation, for items with a cord. The church also leveraged the opportunity to teach people about ways they can safely dispose of expired or unwanted prescription drugs by taking them to different Eskenazi Health sites around Indianapolis.
St. Luke’s UMC members Betty Brandt, Director of Spiritual Life Center and Amy Barnes received the Creation Care award for their team.
Jodi Perras (3rd from left), received the Creation Care award for Individual Advocacy. Jodi has done many things over the years to promote clean energy public policy and currently manages the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio, working to retire coal-fired power plants, block new gas infrastructure and transition to clean energy.
The Creation Care award for Energy and Sustainability was given to Bill Todd, a lay member at Nashville UMC. Bill led an initiative to install 54 solar panels on the church grounds which saves the church nearly $4,000 annually in electricity costs.
Creation Care of The Indiana United Methodist Conference is a ministry structured to bring awareness to our responsibility as United Methodists to care for God’s creation as noted in our United Methodist Social Principles. Creation Care awards recognize the unique and pragmatic ways Indiana United Methodists continue to shepherd that call in different areas of ministry. For questions about Creation Care please contact Rev. Tom Heaton, Associate Director of Mission and Justice Ministries, at tom.heaton@inumc.org.