Anglican Church of the Incarnation Case Study

Mission and Background:  Church of the Incarnation strives to offer excellent hospitality. They are a contemporary, inclusive parish for Christians of diverse ages and backgrounds. Children are especially welcome. They gather together to worship, pray, sing, laugh and grow.  They are located in Oakville, ON and have been serving their community since 1987 when they started in the library of a local high school. They opened the doors of their church building, their home amongst the trees, in January 2000. The building is 9,282 square feet of space that are used for social events, community groups, and tenants. 

This is a faith community that has always felt it is important to be responsive and proactive with the environment. They have always tried to be a green building. They reduce waste, promote reusable items and avoid single-use items, and they work towards improving their energy consumption. So, when it was time to replace their HVAC system, they had to decide: will they make a short-sighted decision or be long-sighted and take a risk?

Motivated by the desire to stop burning fossil fuels, they started looking at implementing a geothermal system. It would cost an additional one-third of the price of a traditional HVAC system; it was an unknown technology to most of the congregation, and no one was sure if the changes were worth the large price tag. It was a risky proposition resulting in a two-year-long debate about the cost and understanding the technology.

Download PDF (410 KB) to learn more about the Anglican Church of the Incarnation in Oakville and what you can learn from their journey. 

Check out the blog post "Getting to Yes: How to convince others to green your Faith Building" for more information on Anglican Church of the Incarnation's greening story.