Hesed, First PA Congregation to Join Green Alliance

At its May 12 Board meeting, Temple Hesed became the first congregation in all of Pennsylvania to take a significant step toward a "greener" future: it became the first member congregation of the newly formed Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light. PA-IPL is the newest chapter in the national Interfaith Power and Light movement, which was started a decade ago by Rev. Canon Sally Bingham to help congregations, faith-based organizations and people of faith address climate change as a moral issue, hrough advocacy, energy conservation, energy efficiency, and the use of clean, renewable energy. Rabbi Daniel J. Swartz, Temple Hesed's spiritual leader, is part of the steering committee getting PA-IPL up and running. While the official kick-off of the organization will be at Penn State September 24 and 25th, PA-IPL is already making presentations across the state to let congregations know what they can do to take action to address climate change. Before coming to Temple Hesed, Rabbi Swartz was the founding director of Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light. He hopes that PA-IPL will be able to do these and much more as it grows across the state. Check out its website, www.paipl.org, or its Facebook page.