Green Team: Who we are/what we do

Missoula First United Methodist Church has tended the same corner of downtown Missoula since its founders filed the city’s 11^th recorded plat in 1871. For the ensuing 155 years, our congregation has provided a stable, progressive, activist presence in the heart of Missoula.

As people of faith, we are guided by a Climate Covenant unanimously adopted by our annual Charge Conference in 2020. It provides a call to action for our congregation, and guiding principles for our Green Team.

In part, the Covenant makes this promise: “We resolve to accept our moral obligation to be responsible stewards of God’s creation and advocates for social justice. … We pledge ourselves – as individuals and as a congregation – to the interconnected responsibilities of caring for creation and seeking justice for the oppressed. All aspects of our congregation’s life will reflect these deep and unwavering commitments.”

Formed in 2018, First United Methodist’s Green Team is focused on the future we leave our children, grandchildren and their children, and are committed to taking whatever action is needed to ensure that future is livable.

We began our work by collaborating with ClearSky Climate Solutions and Climate Smart Missoula on an analysis of First UMC’s carbon footprint, using pre-pandemic energy usage stats (FY 2019). On-site energy use accounted for 84% of our church’s greenhouse gas emissions, or 91.63 metric tons of CO2e per year.

We decided to tackle the biggest source of energy use first, so in January 2021 the Green Team launched an ambitious effort to place 66 solar panels on the roof of our Education Annex. Friends and members of our church responded to the call with enthusiasm and generosity. Total cost of the project was $66,175. We applied for and received a $46,322 Universal System Benefits grant from NorthWestern Energy – 70% of the cost. Our congregation members, the Methodist Church’s Mountain Sky Conference and SBS Solar opened their hearts and wallets to provide the remaining 30 percent.

Installation of our solar array began on Aug. 21, 2021 – a remarkably short turnaround from the project’s January launch. Our contractor, SBS Solar, was finished by week’s end; certification and activation by NorthWestern Energy came shortly thereafter. In the years since, we have generated more electricity than we’ve used during Missoula’s sunniest months, sending power back into the downtown grid for use in other buildings. Even on Missoula’s coldest, darkest months, our installation generates power!

The Green Team continues to lead a variety of action and education projects at First Church – writing letters to local, state and national leaders on climate change issues; leading a robust recycling and composting program; educating congregation members on the full range of environmental issues through presentations, a bulletin board and written Green Notes columns; and sponsoring presentations at after-church potlucks, including a popular forum on green investing. (See attached article on our recycling/composting program!)

We welcome all friends and members of First Church to join our team! We meet monthly via Zoom. To join a meeting or our group, contact Sherry Devlin by email at sherrydevlin@gmail.com.