Creve Coeur Woman Inspires Green Ministry

When Sabine McDowell moved to the United States from her native Germany in 1994, she was appalled to find how little people seemed to care for God’s creation.

At the grocery store, for instance, the bagger did not know what to make of the canvas bags she had brought with her.

“The wonderful person who was bagging looked at my bags and then bagged them,” McDowell, a Creve Coeur resident, remembered.

She realized Missourians needed a push to go green and she set out to give it.

“God gave us this creation to enjoy it and not destroy it and we have to do our part,” she said.

McDowell is doing her part. She helped organize a “green” ministry at in Kirkwood. The idea is to reduce the church’s carbon footprint – the destructive impact it has on the earth – and to teach parishioners how to become good stewards.

McDowell’s husband, Todd McDowell, is rector at Grace. Soon after he was called in 2009, she put her ideas in motion. Now, about 15 parishioners make up the Creation Care Ministry.

One of the first things the ministry team tackled was an energy audit to see just where they stood with a church building that had been built more than 50 years ago.

What they found was that the heating and cooling system was a dinosaur and was wasting money year-round, said McDowell, 45. Windows were not energy efficient, doors needed weatherproofing and electricity was being wasted on lighting.

After months of study, the church embarked on a $1 million capital campaign to update and improve. Pledges have reached more than $1 million, and the improvements already have begun.

“It’s the savings that was the thing that got everybody excited,” McDowell said, adding they expect to see a 30 percent drop in energy costs.

The money saved will go to do more mission work, in the United States and abroad, McDowell said.

“There are so many better ways than to give (the money) to Ameren and Laclede,” she said.

Other components of the green team’s ministry include instituting a recycling program at church, incorporating recyclable materials at church Coffee Hours, and printing “green” tips in the Sunday bulletins. McDowell even started a blog to help share ideas.

In September, team members encouraged parishioners to find an emission-free way to come to church – such as walking or riding a bike. Some have continued the practice, McDowell said.

They ran a “Turn Over a New Leaf” campaign and asked the congregation to think of new ways to reduce their own personal impact on the earth. The point was to show that even if each person made only one change, the impact would be big.

Another plan is to build a community garden on church property this spring. To raise money for start-up costs, the team offered plot sponsorships and raised seedlings over the winter that parishioners could take home for a donation.

Once the garden is going strong, McDowell said, she hopes the produce will be used to provide meals for the homeless and for other charities.

She hopes to get Sunday school classes involved as well as the preschool on site, , and summer camps that use the building.

McDowell even hopes that someday, new visitors to the church will be given homegrown pesto from Grace’s garden as a welcoming gift, instead of the traditional loaf of bread.