FITCHBURG, Wis.— Wisconsin churches are investing in renewable energy. The sign says it all.

Drive on busy Fish Hatchery Road, you’ll see the message: “Powered by the sun and the Son.” 

All Saints Lutheran Church now has solar panels. Pastor Kristin Woelk watched them be installed from her office. 

“Midwest Solar did that work, and they were fantastic,” she said. “They were in and out of here in four days.” 

The All Saints Lutheran congregation has wanted these panels for years. 

“Maybe 2015 [or] 2016, they had had some conversations about it,” Woelk said. “But then their pastor at the time announced that he was retiring. And so everything went on hold.” 

Through the pandemic, the church held a series of online meetings. Members brought up the fact that they’d like to get the solar project up and running again. 

The church needed to own its air conditioning system to get the panels, and that cost about $10,000. The congregation pitched in to make it happen. 

“We had a member who stepped up and said, I will offer a $5,000 challenge grant. I will match dollar for dollar up to $5,000,” Woelk said. “That [goal] was exceeded within a couple of months. We've had a great response from the congregation, even during COVID when everyone is struggling.” 

The panels were paid for through a sponsor, and Legacy Solar Cooperative of Wisconsin. Woelk said the organization helps people and nonprofits switch to solar energy. 

All Saints will pay back that money over time. But Woelk isn’t worried about that, because they’re saving so much on energy costs. 

“We will actually save more in energy costs per year than we will be paying for those clean energy benefits. So it's a win-win,” she said. “They put up the money upfront, we're able to pay for it over time, but we're saving money right away.”

Sure, the money helps. But for Woelk, it’s about a lot more than that. 

“Just this morning, [I was] hearing on the news about the temperature rising and ice caps melting. Those things seem to be speeding up,” she said. 

She said caring for the environment is itself a responsibility of faith. 

“I often find God most easily when I’m out in creation,” she said. “When we look around at the world around us, that is another gift that God has given us. And we need to take care of [it].”