Beyond the Pulpit: Stewardship, Sustainability, and “Other Duties as Assigned”

In nearly five years of ordained ministry, the phrase “other duties as assigned” has become a familiar refrain. I suspect many rostered leaders and church staff members, especially those serving family or pastoral-sized congregations, can relate. Often, when parishioners see me engaged in tasks beyond preaching, teaching, or presiding, they’ll mention this phrase with a good-natured chuckle. But the reality is that many unseen “other duties” are crucial to the life of a worshipping community, and these often fall to the paid staff.

High on this list of unseen duties is the care and maintenance of the places where we gather for worship and community life. Since beginning my current call in August 2023, I’ve become intimately familiar with the significant time and resources required to keep our 72-year-old steam boiler system operational. Conversations with colleagues across the synod confirm a common challenge: aging buildings and worship spaces often demand a substantial portion of resources that could otherwise more directly fuel the missions we so boldly proclaim. While safe and comfortable gathering spaces are essential supports for our missions, they can inadvertently become the primary focus of our resources, rather than a catalyst for sharing them.

This is a tension I’ve certainly felt. That’s why I’m eager to share a resource that is helping my congregation shift our building from being a primary focus of resources to a catalyst for our mission.

Last fall, an ad offering “Free Smart Thermostats” for businesses caught my eye. Skeptical as I usually am about anything advertised as “free,” I reached out to the Center for Energy and Environment (CEE). To my pleasant surprise, the offer was genuine! Just two weeks later, two of our 30-year-old thermostats were replaced with new smart thermostats at no cost to us.

Then, as sometimes happens with aging infrastructure, one of our 30-year-old furnaces failed in January. While we had budgeted for a direct replacement, our collaboration with CEE led to a different outcome. They helped us navigate rebates and grants, allowing us to install a more efficient heat pump for almost 20% less than the cost of a direct furnace replacement.

More recently, noticing the many flickering and burnt-out fluorescent tubes in our fellowship hall, I remembered that CEE also conducts lighting assessments and assists with rebates to significantly lower the cost of transitioning to LED lighting. Thanks to this process, we are now poised to upgrade all the lights in our building to LED. This will not only make our space more welcoming but also significantly reduce our energy consumption and costs annually.

I’m not a spokesperson for CEE. However, as a pastor whose congregation has benefited immensely from their work – making our building more sustainable, welcoming, and comfortable – I wholeheartedly encourage other congregations to reach out to them. Discover what might be possible for your community and how your building can better serve as a catalyst for your mission.