UCC minister honored by White House for environmental leadership

United Church of Christ minister the Rev. Kim Morrow is one of 12 faith leaders being recognized by the White House for their efforts in protecting their communities and the environment from the effects of climate change. These “Champions of Change” were honored on Monday, July 20, in Washington, D.C., for their leadership throughout the United States and around the world to green their communities and educate others on the moral and social justice implications of climate change.

“I feel very, very humbled,” said Morrow, who served as minister of sustainability at First-Plymouth Church UCC in Lincoln, Neb., for the past five years. “I heard there were 400 nominations that came in, so it’s a great honor to be selected for this.”

Morrow is passionate about helping people respond to environmental urgencies in ways that are community based, theologically motivated, and hopeful. She serves part-time as executive director of Nebraska Interfaith Power & Light, a nonprofit whose mission is to facilitate the faith community’s response to climate change, and recently became a part-time climate change resource specialist at the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska. Morrow was nominated for this honor by the Sustainable Living Ministry team at First-Plymouth Church, and also by her colleagues at Nebraska Interfaith Power & Light.

She speaks to congregations regularly on the link between faith and climate change, and her work has fostered a host of programs including ecologically-themed worship services, conferences on faith and climate, and church farmer’s markets.

The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. The program at the White House featured panel discussions with the 12 honorees, and remarks by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy and Senior Advisor to the President Brian Deese. The event was streamed live on the White House website.

“I’m very grateful that the Obama Administration sees the moral urgency of responding to climate change,” Morrow said. “There is a lot of momentum building, and I’m hoping that this event, the Pope’s encyclical, and other work being done will help make positive, heathy changes in our world.”