Local church going green

A decision was made by the church to update their sanctuary by making it environmental.

“We were all feeling we’ve got to do something but we didn’t know where to start,” said Reverend Joanne McFadden of the Trinity United Church.

Recently the church received a bequest and the church had to come to a decision whether to put the money aside for a rainy day or to start using part of the money immediately.

Rev. McFadden explained that in small towns many congregations are in difficult situations financially, are shrinking and the aged buildings are in constant need of maintainance.

The church decided there was more than just a financial consideration but there was also the moral decision to protect the environment.

“It became clear that we had to do something with this money for the long term,” said Rev. McFadden. “Good not just for the pastoral charge but also for the earth.”

The first step towards going green is the insulation of the entire church.

When an environmental assessment was conducted, it showed that fifty tons of greenhouse gas, was being emitted into the atmosphere.

“The building was just functioning as a big chimney,” said Rev. McFadden.

The church will be insulated on the roof, walls, floors and cellar of the sanctuary as well as all pipes will be wrapped.

The reasons for initiating the expensive updates, according to Rev. McFadden go beyond what they will save on their oil bill.

“It is part of our responsibility as a faith community,” said Rev. McFadden. “In a day and age when people are hearing about environmental issues it would be really nice to hear a story where somebody took a big leap.”

McFadden explained the church’s thoughts on the issue further.

“It’s an act of faith because by doing this we are saying that because we are investing this much money into the building we plan to be here in the future…when you’re seeing churches close all over the province, it’s an act of faith.”

Once the first phase is completed she said they will have a big job ahead of them cleaning out the church of the insulation debris.

“Who knows how many hundreds of hours it’s going to take,” Rev. McFadden laughed, “we are going to have to clean from the roof peaks down.”

An unexpected spin-off to the decision was a closer congregation.

“I think that this is going to bring a new energy in the church,” said Rev. McFadden.