Photo Courtesy of Northern Illinois Conference
Early morning mist blankets a volunteer weeding the garden at Barrington United Methodist Church.
Creation care has become a ministry priority among churches in the Northern Illinois Conference of The United Mehtodist Church. Here is a compilation of stories about United Methodists in Northern Illinois are caring for the Earth.
Many Pathways Lead to Creation Care
By Victoria Rebeck, Northern Illinois Communications Director
United Methodists who hear God’s call to care for the world God created gained practical skills in interrelated areas while attending the Creation Care Summit on May 2 at First United Methodist Church of Arlington Heights.
Climate justice intersects with all other justice concerns, said Grace Pugh Hubbard, the Climate Care Coordinator for the New England Annual Conference and the event keynote speaker. The poor and people of color are disproportionately affected, such as by natural disasters, wars over extractive industries such as fossil fuels, and toxic waste disposal.
“As we speak, unregulated artificial intelligence data centers are pouring methane directly into low-income neighborhoods and draining water supplies not only for safe drinking but for firefighting in rural communities,” she said.
“With proper regulation and a change in process we could follow the direction of Finland and fuel these data centers with solar energy and use waste-heat recovery to create new energy. But this requires regulation to quickly catch up with this booming industry before more damage is done.”
Grace Pugh Hubbard describes current threats to the natural environment while offering reasons for hope.
She reminded listeners that the establishment of Earth Day in 1970 preceded legislation that made considerable change. Some 20 million Americans—about 10 percent of the population of the time—demonstrated and gathered to raise awareness of the threats to the environment.
“Environmental awareness increased in the US and three months later the Environmental Protection Agency was established,” she said. “Earth Day also led to the passage of the Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts.”
The 2024 United Methodist General Conference also took action to strengthen the church’s commitment to responsible stewardship of God’s creation. Pugh Hubbard pointed out that the conference passed or modified five paragraphs in the Book of Discipline, having to do with green teams, sustainable annual conference sessions, the establishment of a position called conference coordinator of caretakers of God’s creation, annual conference carbon footprint or greenhouse emissions audits, and reporting to charge conferences about carbon-neutral progress and timeline.
Five new resolutions were added to the Book of Resolutions, addressing church land use, commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, recognition of United Methodist support for the Global Green New Deal initiatives and legislative efforts, avoidance of plastic, and the formation of green teams.
The Social Principles were also revised, and the first of four sections is now “The Community of All Creation.”
Pugh Hubbard cited a concept from Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist, proposing that if 3.5 percent of a population engages in a nonviolent protest, change is likely to occur. Since about 10 percent of the US population demonstrated for Earth Day, Pugh Hubbard suggested that gaining 3.5 percent support is achievable.
“Scripture calls us again and again to care for the widow and the orphan, for those who are marginalized by the constructs of our society,” she said. “In this climate-changed world, we have more and will have more climate refugees than ever in our current history.”
Participants learned how to take steps toward changing their church’s use of energy and natural resources through four workshops. “Engaging Your Community: Faith in Place” described how faith and spirituality align with creation care and how to engage congregants in environmental advocacy. “Building Green Teams” explained how to initiate, organize, and resource church Green Teams, which advise churches on environmentally sound choices, among other concerns. “Planting Native,” led by a Wild Ones chapter, demonstrated how to choose native plants for church and home gardens and how they benefit a balanced ecosystem. Verde Energy Efficiency Experts showed how they helped churches, within budget, make energy efficiency upgrades that reduced costs and energy use through upgrades to lighting, refrigeration, HVAC, windows, and more.
Photo Courtesy of Northern Illinois Conference
A Barrington UMC volunteer carries a load of fresh produce that the church donates to local food pantries. (Photo Courtesy of Northern Illinois Annual Conference)
Barrington UMC’s Garden Provides Fresh Produce to Food Pantries
By Becky Lemna, Barrington United Methodist Church
Food pantries across Lake, Cook, Kane, and McHenry counties report that hunger remains a serious and persistent concern, as people in surrounding communities are stretched increasingly thin financially.
As winter’s grip loosens into spring, members of Barrington United Methodist Church are reminded that their Christian faith calls them to feed the hungry. That faith also brings hope—hope that spring will arrive and, with it, renewed opportunities to serve their neighbors in meaningful, practical ways.
Since its inception, the BUMC Congregational Garden has produced more than 290,000 pounds of vegetables, all distributed to seven local food banks. Anticipating growing needs in the coming months, members of the garden team have already begun preparing for a successful season.
Soil samples have been collected from multiple areas of the expanding garden and sent for analysis to ensure the right nutrients are added. Approximately 1,000 tomato plants, 400 pepper plants, and 1,000 broccoli plants have been started at Horchers Florist and Greenhouses in Wheeling, a long-time partner in this ministry.
In addition, 1,000 zucchini, 250 cucumber plants, 500 winter squash, and 100 pumpkin seeds will be planted directly into the garden. The planting schedule is carefully staggered over several weeks to allow for a steady harvest throughout the summer.
The seedlings will be brought to the church garden to acclimate before being planted in May and June. Throughout the growing season, members and friends of the church will work together to plant, weed, water, and ultimately harvest the crops. With God’s help, this effort will once again yield thousands of pounds of fresh vegetables for distribution to neighbors through local food pantries.
Photo Courtesy of Northern Illinois Conference
A team from Broadway UMC helped plant native species to assist with air quality. (Photo Courtesy of Northern Illinois Annual Conference)
Broadway United Methodist Church's Multi-Point Creation Care Ministry
By Jill Raz, Broadway United Methodist Church Creation Care Team
Having a creation-care team is probably the most important and critical aspect of the creation work of Broadway United Methodist Church in Chicago. Collaborating with this team allows us to accomplish big things for our church.
The Sunday before Earth Day, we held a Green Sunday service that revolved around stewardship and our responsibilities towards God’s creation. Three people on our committee spoke on how they became “green,” and the role that plays in their faith journeys.
That same week, we took part in the One Earth Film Festival, an environmental program based in Chicago that creates opportunities for understanding the climate crisis.
We screened the documentary “From Rails to Trails,” which portrays community-led efforts to transform abandoned rail tracks into bike and nature trails for everyone to enjoy. After the film, we heard from a panel of representatives of local community groups: Openlands, Working Bikes, Third Act Illinois, Solar Landscape, and the City of Chicago Department of the Environment. It was well attended—over 100 people were present.
Broadway UMC Members Plant Native Species in the Church's Garden
Early this year, we partnered with Faith in Place to assist with their work on indoor air quality. Faith in Place is an environmental non-profit that works with communities of faith across Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin to educate, connect, and advocate for healthier communities.
There are currently no existing legislation or regulations regarding indoor air quality in this country; existing regulations address outdoor air only.
For Faith in Place, we measured the carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide levels of 13 homes in our community that have gas appliances. We gave these households induction stoves to reduce their gas and fossil fuel dependence. Faith in Place will use the results from our testing—as well as those from other churches in the city—to urge lawmakers to push for reforms in the fossil fuel industry that will improve our overall air quality.
We’ve also been busy ensuring that our home itself is as green as can be. Our pastor, Rev. Alka Lyall, has been a great spark in these efforts. She requested that Faith in Place perform an energy audit of our church. From the audit, we learned about a company named Verde, which replaced all our lights with LED bulbs and motion sensors at a very low cost to the church.
Solar Landscape’s Community Solar program has enabled us to shift our energy source to the sun. This June, we will be able to match our electrical usage with solar energy and achieve net zero emissions: greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere will be balanced by an equivalent amount removed, resulting in no net increase in atmospheric emissions.
We have also banned plastic foam use in our facilities, ensured that the church’s invested funds support fossil-free initiatives, and are now busy putting native plants in our church gardens.
(Jill presented this report at the NIC Creation Care Summit, May 2, 2026.)