Hamilton Monthly Meeting Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Hamilton, Ontario Greening Case Study
Mission and Background:
The Hamilton Monthly Meeting Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) is located in Hamilton, Ontario. Their main message is:
The way is available to all. It may be particularly attractive to those strongly concerned with peace and social justice and to those with a meditative or mindfulness practice who seek a supportive community.
Quakers meet in silent worship to strengthen this connection and bear witness to its power in our lives. From the stillness that puts us in touch with the Divine comes our corporate testimony of simplicity, honesty, and non-violence. Work towards a just and equitable treatment of all human beings and close attention to the health and sustainability of our communities and the environment that supports them are examples of these testimonies.
Historically these testimonies have led many Quakers to the forefront of movements for social justice: prison reform, the abolition of slavery, pacifism, and indigenous rights, among others.
Meeting for Worship every Sunday at 10:30 am at Hamilton Quaker Meeting Religious Society of Friends located at 7 Butty Place, Hamilton, ON L8S 2R5
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 "Hamilton Monthly Meeting Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)" or "DIY Energy Audit Guide Event in Hamilton, Ontario" to learn more about Greening Sacred Spaces in Hamilton, Ontario.
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.
St. Brigid’s Parish, Toronto Case Study
Mission and Background: St. Brigid’s Parish is a faith community that comes together through Christian ministry and community celebration. We live our faith through diversity, inclusion, compassion, justice and commitment. By welcoming, giving, and sharing, we demonstrate our faith in God, both within and beyond our Parish.
We are located in the Danforth (298 Wolverleigh Blvd) and have been worshipping and serving our community since 1927. St. Brigid Catholic School is located nearby.
Our building is 20,800 square feet of space, and is well used by our parishioners, school, and community groups. We run Out of the Cold (OOTC) and St. Vincent de Paul Society programs at our building. Our OOTC program provides safe refuge, hospitality and emergency shelter to the homeless community, every Monday night from April to November. St. Vincent de Paul Society volunteers provide home visits and education for those in need.
We have been actively seeking to reduce our footprint for the past 7 years. We do our best to reduce waste, promote recycling and composting, and have taken active steps to increase energy efficiency at our building.
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Holy Trinity Church, (Thornhill) Case Study
Mission and Background: We are a vibrant, Christian community. We are located at Yonge and Centre Streets in the Village of Thornhill, City of Vaughan, worshipping and serving our community since 1830. A heritage building, we have over 22, 000 “Sq. ft.” of space that is regularly used by the congregation, a pre-school and numerous community groups.
In 2015, the Diocese asked each parish to learn more and act faithfully on climate change. At our annual VESTRY, held in February, a MOTION was passed to support the Diocese’s Advocacy at the provincial and federal government level for effective policy on climate change.
We recognized that the main source of our Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and operating costs relate to faith building energy consumption. This lead us to decide to investigate opportunities and consider suggestions from parishioners to reduce our carbon footprint over the next year and report results and recommendations for future action to VESTRY and the congregation, at large.
Download PDF (230 KB) to learn more about Holy Trinity Church, Thornhill journey.
St. Cuthbert's Anglican Church Case Study
St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church, Toronto
Mission and Background: St. Cuthbert’s is a caring Christian community that seeks to love God and serve our neighbours. We are located in the heart of Leaside and have been worshipping and serving our community since we were established in 1890 --128 years of bringing faith to life!
Our facilities offer over 19,600 square feet of space that is well maintained, well-appointed and well used by our parishioners, tenants and local groups including Beavers, Cubs, Venturers, Scouts and Girl Guides.
We have made a conscientious effort to reduce waste, promote recycling and composting, improve energy efficiency, eliminate reliance on toxic products and exercise earth-friendly protocols. In 2010 we completed an in-house environmental audit by examining our building operations and best practices. We maintain a documented record of our improvements and initiatives.
Download PDF (230 KB) to learn more about St.Cuthbert's Anglican Church in Toronto and what you can learn from their journey.
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