Faithful Footprints

The United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created and manages the Energy Star program. You may know the brand when buying an appliance for your home, selecting the most efficient appliance possible. They also work with buildings, and specifically congregations! (As an aside, Natural Resources Canada created the EnerGuide program, which we sold to the US, and they rebranded it as Energy Star, and now we use both programs here in Canada). Although US- centric, their resources are really great tools to help Canadian congregations take on energy saving actions and activities. 

To start, we, at Faith & the Common Good (FCG) are the only Canadian faith-based organization to have co-branded with EPA, producing the amazingly helpful Energy Star Action Workbook. It even has Dundas United Cardigan, NS on the cover replacing windows! Paired with our DIY Energy Audit Walkthrough Guide, these two resources are an outstanding way to take energy savings action in your congregation.

One of the most beautiful experiences in religious services is the sound of a pipe organ filling a church, whether in a small wood framed, rural church, or a full size Casavant in a large Gothic, stone church. The sounds fill the building as well as one’s soul with joy. 

What people may not know is that many pipe organs have leather and wood parts, specifically in the stops in the pipes. This is merely an interesting detail until you think about what happens to those materials when temperatures drop – that is, they change in shape and size. These changes can impact the sound of the organ.

When we think about the year 2050 and our climate goals of being carbon neutral in all of our activities, including operating our buildings, we often have this utopian vision of space age buildings. That vision is not what 2050 will look like; not even close. 

As Canadians, when it comes to actions we can take to protect the climate, we automatically think about energy conservation. We head over to the local hardware store for some caulking, insulation, a new Energy Star window etc., to fix up our buildings that will in turn, help lower
maintenance costs, save energy, and save the planet.

But that only works if you live in a city or close to a large hardware store. Have you thought about how difficult it is to get an energy audit for a fishing port village church on a remote coast of Newfoundland, with the nearest energy auditor over three hours away? Have you though  about trying to fly in new windows and doors to a remote northern Manitoba reserve’s church without any being damaged?

A guest post by Doug Daley, Greening Initiatives Lead & Don Atkinson, Past Chair (St. Paul’s United Church, Orillia).

When Rev. Ted Reeve joined St. Paul’s United Church in 2014 as our new minister, the congregation was looking for opportunities to increase the use of the 150-year-old building. 

With input from Rev. Bill Phipps, a very close collaborator of Rev. Reeve’s on numerous initiatives, a vision to “turn ourselves inside out for the benefit of the community” as the friends described it, was adopted.

Faithful Footprints: Putting our Houses in Order

Energy retrofits power renewed mission for faith communities

The jury is still out on the Canadian government’s recent climate accountability act but not everyone is waiting for a verdict. 

The United Church of Canada has committed to reducing its greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2050, and local congregations across the country are already responding, aided by more than $3 million in available grant money from the denomination. 

Across the country, United Churches are doing their part to address the climate crisis by getting their houses in order and reducing their own carbon emissions. Through a partnership with Faith & the Common Good, the United Church of Canada is offering grants and support for churches to measure their energy use and reduce their climate pollution, in ways that save money and strengthen congregational renewal. The initiative, called Faithful Footprints is about living climate commitments, for future generations, and for all of creation. To inspire your congregation to get involved, we have stories lined up from three participating congregations from across the country. Crescent Fort Rouge United Church, in Winnipeg, Manitoba is the first. 

As well, stay tuned for a full feature of Faithful Footprints in the February 2020 edition of the United Church of Canada’s Mandate Magazine.

Check out more inspiring stories from United Churches across Canada at Faithful Footprints Inspiration Stories.

Across the country, United Churches are doing their part to address the climate crisis by getting their houses in order and reducing their own carbon emissions. Through a partnership with Faith & the Common Good, the United Church of Canada is offering grants and support for churches to measure their energy use and reduce their climate pollution, in ways that save money and strengthen congregational renewal. The initiative, called Faithful Footprints is about living climate commitments, for future generations, and for all of creation. To inspire your congregation to get involved, we have stories lined up from three participating congregations from across the country. Crescent Fort Rouge United Church, in Winnipeg, Manitoba is the first. 

As well, stay tuned for a full feature of Faithful Footprints in the February 2020 edition of the United Church of Canada’s Mandate Magazine.

Check out more inspiring stories from United Churches across Canada at Faithful Footprints Inspiration Stories.

The following piece is written by Sandi Howell, [email protected]

Across the country, United Churches are doing their part to address the climate crisis by getting their houses in order and reducing their own carbon emissions. Through a partnership with Faith & the Common Good, the United Church of Canada is offering grants and support for churches to measure their energy use and reduce their climate pollution, in ways that save money and strengthen congregational renewal. The initiative, called Faithful Footprints is about living climate commitments, for future generations, and for all of creation. To inspire your congregation to get involved, we have stories lined up from three participating congregations from across the country. Crescent Fort Rouge United Church, in Winnipeg, Manitoba is the first. 

As well, stay tuned for a full feature of Faithful Footprints in the February 2020 edition of the United Church of Canada’s Mandate Magazine.

Check out more inspiring stories from United Churches across Canada at Faithful Footprints Inspiration Stories.

Toward a Solar Sanctuary: St. Paul’s United Church, Edmonton (Click on the photo above to view the video.)

2018 could easily be described as the year climate came home to roost. BC wildfires so extensive that cities across the country were blanketed in smog. Heat-related deaths in both Montreal and Ottawa. And a landmark scientific report imploring urgent action within 12 years to avoid catastrophic climate change.