Reformed Church of Highland Park
Highland Park, New Jersey

Thanks to the contagious enthusiasm of its co-pastors Seth and Stephanie Kaper-Dale, the Reformed Church in Highland Park (RCHP) has become a leader in its denomination in religious-environmentalism. Over a two-year period, RCHP has made tremendous progress integrating care for the earth into its congregational life.

“God sent Jesus Christ, the very presence of God, to restore the covenant between God and ‘all things,’” said Pastor Seth in a sermon at the Dedication of the church’s solar array. “Jesus Christ came not just to save human souls, but rather to restore all things—flowers, and mountains and trees, and birds and bees and the whole creation that God breaths into existence and supports and upholds. It’s time for us to start thinking of covenantal community in much broader terms than we usually do. If we want to talk about God’s covenantal relationship, we’ve got to talk about all creation, all things.”

Here are some of RCHP’s accomplishments in relation to the environment.

• The church conducted a GreenFaith Toxics Audit, creating a strategy to replace poisonous cleaning and maintenance products with natural, non-toxic alternatives.
• The church also installed solar panels, dedicating them at a spirit-filled worship service that also included the baptism of an adult and child. Learn more about Reformed Church's solar panel experience. Pastor Seth Kaper Dale preached a rousing sermon on the Christian basis for environmental care. Read Pastor Kaper Dale's sermon.
• Adults and had members of RCHP’s youth group took part in GreenFaith’s SPLENDOR educational program, measuring their own ecological footprint and identifying the largest polluters in their county.
• The church sponsored a retreat with eco-theologian Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger, exploring ways that Christian theology connects with care for creation.
• The church worked with GreenFaith to sponsor an electronic waste recycling event, preventing over 3,000 pounds of toxic waste from entering the waste stream.

“The solar panels on our roof serve as a symbol to me of our church thinking about the breadth of God’s covenant of love,” says Pastor Seth. “I cannot think of a symbol with broader significance. Probably the most all encompassing threat to the earth that God made and sent Jesus Christ to reconcile to beauty and fullness is the emission of excessive amounts of carbon dioxide. We all know this creates global warming, and it’s a huge threat.

“The first to see the effects are animal and plant species, whose existence depends on the earth’s natural climate control mechanisms.

“Second to see the effects are the poor and the oppressed, living in vulnerable places, in vulnerable houses, with vulnerable food and water supplies. Eventually, we will all see the effects.

“Harnessing the sun for energy and power, in ways that are clean and safe and renewable, is one of the things this church does now, in response to God’s covenant with the world. These solar panels are part of our response to God’s love for all creation.”

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Institutional Profiles:
- St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church
- Reformed Church of Highland Park
- Temple B'nai Abraham
- Caldwell Dominican Sisters
- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
- St. Anthony's Orthodox Church

Individual Profiles:
- Marie Savoie
- Rabbi Elliott Tepperman
- Pastor Jeff Elliott
- Kathy Abbott
- Paul Kaufman
- Sr Jeanne Goyette, OP