Listen to the commentary
Real Audio | MP3 download
The coming weeks promise to be a whirlwind for
Brian Sauder of Champaign. In early May he will be licensed toward ordination in
the Mennonite Church U.S.A., which means the church affirms his calling to
minister on behalf of creation as a pastor. Shortly thereafter he will be
awarded a Master’s in Business Administration degree from the UI
College of
Business.
Then in June he will move with his wife to Chicago
and begin the next stage of his professional career as executive director of
Faith in Place, a statewide nonprofit whose mission is “to help people of faith
understand that issues of ecology and economy—of care for Creation—are at the
forefront of social justice.” Of course, this is all wonderful news for Brian
and people who have the good fortune to be directly connected with him, but why
would others care?
The answer to that question is best explained by
looking at a few of the ways people in east central Illinois has been benefited
from his presence over the past five years. During that time, Sauder has served
our community by establishing a branch office of Faith in Place here and served
as a catalyst for change of the best sort.
[Photo, left to right: FIP staffers Doug Williams, Rev. Cindy Shepherd and Brian Sauder with Pastor Michael Crosby of the First Mennonite Church.]
Have you heard of the Sola Gratia Farm? It’s a
four-acre produce garden at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Urbana, a cooperative
venture between the Church and Faith in Place in community supported
agriculture. Sola Gratia offers shareholders the opportunity to eat fresh food
grown locally using natural practices. And it benefits the community in many
important ways. Chief among them, at least 10 percent of the farm’s production
is shared with the Eastern Illinois Food Bank and other local hunger abatement
programs.
Obviously, such an operation depends on the dedication
and hard work of many people. But in his outreach role with Faith in Place,
Sauder provided much of the leadership and energy that was needed to transform
Sola Gratia from a good idea into reality.
Instigation by Sauder was also important in another
soon-to-be-highly-visible project undertaken by a local faith community, installation
of a solar photovoltaic array on the First Mennonite Church in Urbana. That’s
expected to account for a significant percentage of electricity used at the
facility once it is completed in June. (Look for the full story in this column
then.)
In addition to these larger scale projects, Sauder
has provided support and direction for numerous other congregations that have
undertaken smaller scale efforts to enact their values by conserving resources.
Sauder also deserves credit for his environmental
advocacy on behalf of Faith in Place. In cooperation with representatives from
other statewide groups, he helped ensure that the Illinois legislation on
fracking adopted last summer contained some of the strongest protections
against fracking-related water pollution in the country. And together with
others at Faith in Place, he claims the honor of bringing the largest, most
diverse group of citizens to the environmental lobby day in Springfield each
year.
When he is called upon to tell his own story
Sauder emphasizes the centrality of faith in the choices he has made. “As a
first-generation college student from a small town, I found the bad news about
the state of the environment overwhelming at times. But I kept myself grounded
by asking ‘What does my faith have to say about that?’”
Since then, he has lived the answer. I know I
speak for many others in wishing him the best as he continues to do so, in
Chicago and beyond.
