April 2020 Shared Offering
Faith in Place
UCE’s shared offering recipient for the month of April is Faith In Place. Since 1999, Faith in Place has worked with over 1000 houses of worship throughout Illinois to protect our sacred land, water and air. Each Sunday in April, we are highlighting one example of how Faith In Place lives out their mission, and why we hope you’ll support them through the Sunday shared offering.
Nonprofit Green Lending: Faith In Place is particularly sensitive to churches in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. These churches have a hard enough time covering their operating expenses, let alone investing in energy efficiency projects. Working with Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs and Everence Federal Credit Union, Faith in Place assists these churches in securing low-interest loans.
Winter Farmers’ Markets: Each winter, Faith in Place partners with faith communities in hosting indoor farmers’ markets on Saturdays and Sundays. These markets provide an additional source of income for local vendors during off-season, encourage healthy eating and support the building of vendor-to-customer relationships.
Springfield Lobby Day: Every spring, Faith in Place works closely with the Illinois Environmental Council, Sierra Club, the Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois and others to send a voluntary delegation to Springfield. This year, on March 4th, over 700 people took buses to Springfield and met with their legislators in support of CEJA, the Clean Energy Jobs Act. Interesting side note: the very first lobby day took place in 2007 when Clare Butterfield, a Unitarian minister and founder of Faith In Place, drove seven adults to Springfield. Seven to seven-hundred – now that’s hope!
Water Audit & Retrofits: Faith In Place considers basement flooding and sewer backup to be a climate justice issue, as most flooding in Chicago takes place in communities of color where water infrastructure has not been properly maintained. Faith in Place works with people of faith in these neighborhoods to build solutions to their most pressing water needs.