Articles

How Faith Communities Are Helping to Save the Planet
Part 3: Places of Worship Become Examples of Stewardship

By Oliver D. Ferrari
Faith And The City E-Letter
Volume 2, Issue 12
October 8, 2003

Speak to Rev. Steve Brown and you'll quickly learn he's pragmatic, thoughtful, and well informed. That's why his statements about the environment are particularly stirring. After citing a few facts he says, "If we don't do something about [the environment], nature or natural selection will--and people will die off." He leans forward in his chair. "Or we must exercise spiritual, moral, and political leadership to plan a way for environmental justice and all that involves."

So how do congregations fit in?

"We must begin with getting our own house in order," Brown says. He is chair of Presbytery of Greater Atlanta's Caring for Creation Committee. Trinity Presbyterian, his Atlanta parish, has successfully committed to educating and acting within the congregation, as promised in their covenant with Georgia Interfaith Power and Light. A new adult education program features classes on environmental sustainability, including lectures on eco-ethics and building a hydrogen economy.

But much of the action takes place on a smaller scale. Trinity promotes the use and sale of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), which have long been routine components in faith community environmentalism. CFLs use a quarter of the energy and last ten times as long as conventional incandescent lights. Youth groups, always searching for creative fundraisers, are now turning to the sale of these environmentally friendly bulbs.

But the most visible and effectual display of Trinity's environmental commitment stands proudly next to the worship hall. Construction of a new building usually means tree removal, increased runoff and added energy consumption. Through Rev. Brown's advocacy, these problems have been minimized at Trinity. For every tree cut, at least one new tree has been planted. On the interior, the building utilizes advanced insulation and a computerized, low-energy heating and air system. Gas-burning water heaters give way to solar heated baths. These innovations at Trinity are products of the parish's consultation with the Southface Energy Institute of downtown Atlanta.

"At Southface, we're really focused on consumption of energy," says a representative. "But when you start going deeper into the use of energy, you see that it's related to all forms of pollution. It's even related to public health."

Southface works mostly as a technical and advisory organization. Engineers and interns populate its house on Pine Street, which is packed with enough eco-technology to make the greenest get butterflies. Surrounding hard surfaces are permeable, decreasing runoff. The garden is filled with native plants that are watered minimally with non-septic wastewater. Local building materials are used, including salvaged wood floors. The building's southern exposure is covered with photovoltaic (solar) shingling, and virtually all waste materials are recycled. Southface is in the planning phase of an ambitious 10,000-square-foot eco-office that will employ the most advanced environmental innovations, including a vegetated roof, decidedly low-tech but surprisingly efficient.

Southface technicians, through the Green Building Services Program, perform energy audits for homes, offices and congregations that can be as simple or as complex as the customer wishes.

Jeff Ross-Bain, a seasoned environmental engineer and parishioner of All Saints Episcopal Church, describes "low-hanging fruit," or simple opportunities for congregations to reduce energy consumption. He recommends energy audits, heating-ventilation-air-conditioning (HVAC) inspections, duct sealing, window insulation, and common sense conservation like the use of CFLs. "At All Saints, the youth groups painted trash cans to make a color-coded recycling system," he says. He suggests salvaging rainwater for later irrigation of lawns and gardens: "It's not rocket science. You take your downspout and put it in a tank."

Ross-Bain advocates a "soft-start" approach to greening a congregation. "As a faith community, we are neighbors. That's why I'm trying to approach it softly from an educational standpoint." Ross-Bain and All Saints have tried to tie education to the religious year. For Christian celebration of Pentecost, the season of fire, the topic will be clean generation of power. Ross-Bain hopes to coordinate a similar diocese-wide environmental education program in the coming months.

In January 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published the Energy Star® for Congregations Guide, a compact booklet that distills most of the information necessary to become an energy-efficient congregation. "A comprehensive upgrade program could reduce energy use by 30 percent," according to the document, which adds that a congregation's investments in efficiency are typically recouped in three years.

"We're just on the beginning cusp of seeing faith communities really seize upon this issue," Brown says with excitement. "We're at the critical edge."


Links:
1. Trinity Presbyterian Atlanta
2. Georgia Interfaith Power and Light
3. Youth Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Fundraising
4. Southface Energy Institute
5. Southface Energy Institute Green Building Services
6. Energy Star® for Congregations


This article is the third in a four-part series on the environmental movement and religious faith.
Part 1
Part 2

Oliver Ferrari is a senior at Emory University. He can be reached at oferrari@faithandthecity.org.