Love Thy Neighbor … With Sun and Soil

Solomon’s United Church of Christ, situated on a quiet hilltop just outside of Chambersburg in south-central Pennsylvania, is a small church with a sloped roof and a tall white steeple. But alongside the steeple is something less familiar — 30 solar panels that power the building. And at the bottom of the hill on which the church sits, an extensive community garden gives locals a place to grow produce on the church’s roughly four-acre property. It’s all part of the church’s effort to fulfill God’s wishes, says the Reverend Julia L. Brown.

“I think at the most basic level, it’s a way of loving our neighbors,” Brown says. “We all live on this planet, and we all rely on this planet. We’ve seen more extreme weather patterns as the climate changes, so working to mitigate that climate change is a way … of helping our neighbors stay safe.”

When Brown began as the church’s pastor in September of 2022, the congregation was already discussing ways to work on environmental stewardship and address food insecurity in the community. In 2023, Brown attended a webinar with Interfaith Power & Light and Revolve Renewable Power about solar energy for nonprofits, where she learned about how, through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the church could get tax credits from the IRS for installing solar panels.

After considering bids from two installers, the congregation voted in March 2024 to switch to solar energy. They got a loan for just under $30,000, with no money down and a monthly payment of just $146.52. After about seven months of permitting and other preparation, they put up the solar panels. The system is expected to last 25 years, during which the church anticipates saving between $70,000 and $80,000 on energy costs. Already, Solomon’s energy bills have been cut in at least half, Brown says, grateful that the church took action when it did, since the tax credit program, under the current administration, is under threat.

“There are tremendous benefits to solar and clean energy, and we would hate to see this opportunity go away,” she says. “If local energy rates increase because Canada decides to put tariffs on energy imports, we won’t be [seriously] affected, because we have solar panels. We feel for others who will be affected by that.”

Brown feels encouraged by the increasing number of solar panels she sees in her region. And pastors of several churches have reached out to her to ask about solar energy. “It’s really a great opportunity to create not just clean energy, but American energy, and have energy independence,” she says. 

But Solomon’s environmental impact isn’t limited to its roof. In the summer of 2024, the church also made raised garden beds available for free to people in the community, along with four high, wheelchair-accessible plots by the church’s front door for the elderly or people with disabilities. Gardeners can grow any crop they want (except for marijuana), and they are free to decorate their plots with garden gnomes and other ornaments. Surplus crops go to a food pantry; last year, the church donated 310 pounds of produce. “A lot of churches aren't blessed with such land,” Brown says. “Our few acres are like a little water molecule in the ocean, but it is something. I think we don’t quite realize that we’re designed to live together on this earth, human and nonhuman, and it’s important to care for each other. At the most basic theological level, it’s fulfilling Jesus’ call to love our neighbors as ourselves.”

The congregation has been enthusiastic about the church’s efforts to be green and serve neighbors, Brown says. Which, she adds, is the kind of thing a church should do. “The Earth is God’s handiwork,” Brown says. “It’s honoring the artist to take care of that work and the way it was created, rather than bend it to our will. Capitalism and convenience and our human desire for control have gotten in the way of caring for the Earth.”