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Indy Action Coalition Kicks Off Fall Season

Indy Action Coalition kicked off our fall season of organizing, hosting 75 people from a dozen faith-based organizations to start fall listening sessions. Listening sessions are not just about identifying the next set of issues the group will fight for; they are about inviting a new generation of leaders to join in the fight for a more just world. This group of leaders has committed to over 13 listening sessions that will engage 360+ people! Strong and effective campaigns are built because of the collective participation that starts in the listening season. Following these listening sessions, IAC will launch a research phase to uncover the solutions to the challenges and issues that are uncovered.

Everyone is welcome to join at any time! St. Luke’s is hosting our listening session on October 9 at 6:30PM. You can sign up to get on our mailing list or to be contacted by our leaders.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT!

Indy Action Coalition is a grassroots, multi-faith, community organizing movement, building people power to bring about safe, inclusive, and healthy communities. They operate under the Live Free Indiana umbrella, and are connected as a sister movement to Indianapolis’ Black Church Coalition and Validus Movement, making this the largest organizing effort in the state. Our first campaign this spring resulted in $17 million committed in the city budget for Streets to Home Indy, Indy Peace Fellowship gun violence reduction strategy, and Clinician-Led Crisis Response.

Submitted by Shelly Clasen

St. Luke’s First Solar Facility Is at Work, Reducing Carbon Emissions and Saving $$

In mid-June of this year, St. Luke’s first solar facility was installed on the south-facing roof-top of the new garage building immediately west of Luke’s Lodge. This solar facility consists of 45 solar panels, each capable of generating 565 Watts of electricity in the form of direct current. Thus, the total output capacity of the solar facility is 25.43 kW (kilowatts). On an annual basis, the solar facility is projected to be capable of providing 32,700 kW-hours of electricity (after conversion to alternating current), which is approximately 69% of the electricity consumed by Luke’s Lodge.

Although it is too soon to have data available on actual performance of the new solar facility, we expect that its current performance will be great since it has started operation in early summer, which is the period of longest daily sunlight and, thus, greatest daily solar electricity output. We will follow up this report in another month or two once we have reliable data available on electricity generation by the solar facility.

For our Creation Care Ministry, the most gratifying aspect of this new solar facility is the knowledge that its operation is now taking a small bite out of the carbon emissions that have resulted in the past from usage of fossil fuel-generated electricity to supply the needs of Luke’s Lodge. This solar facility represents another small step toward achieving carbon neutrality for operations at St. Luke’s North Campus. Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 is the overall goal for St. Luke’s pursuant to the Carbon Neutrality Strategic Plan approved by the Governing Board in late August. We still have a long way to go!

Submitted by Larry Kane