Caring for God's Creation: Putting Words Into Action

Linda Rimer, Environmental Stewardship Committee Chair

In the November issue of Cross Roads, the Environmental Stewardship Committee described how each of us can take better care of God's creation by using less energy. Our small acts do matter - for when we reduce our use of energy, we reduce the amount that must be generated. That in turn helps to protect the quality of our air and water and promotes climate stability. Now we want to extend our individual stewardship efforts to the entire parish and we invite your participation.

On February 14, 2004, members of the Environmental Stewardship Committee will meet at the church at 9:00 a.m. to conduct an energy audit of the parish. We will have already determined our current electricity and gas use by researching historic parish records. In a typical audit, the first step is to collect fundamental information to determine how we are currently doing - often called a "baseline." Once this information is collected and analyzed, we will be able to make recommendations on where energy savings can be made by replacing equipment, or operating the parish in a different manner. We then compare our progress in making savings by comparing with the baseline.

There are several reasons for conducting this audit, not the least of which is to conserve energy and protect our planet. Energy conservation also saves money; we anticipate being able to save enough money to pay for any improvements needed to make those energy savings a reality. But once the improvements are paid for, they become the gift that keeps on giving … to the parish. Funds previously needed to pay for electricity and gas can be used for other needs of the parish.

We are seeking volunteers to help us conduct this energy audit on February 14. By coming to the church that day, you will be able to donate one to two hours of your time and help with a variety of tasks that will include:

• Collecting information on major equipment, such as air conditioning and heating units. This basically involves copying down name plate information.
• Canvassing the church for energy consuming devices (we will have two zones that cover the church property for two teams to tackle.)
• Counting light fixtures in each room and noting the type of fixture, number of bulbs, etc.
• Counting windows and briefly describing windows in each room.
• Entering collected data into a computer.
• And other tasks!

Each task is an important part of the overall picture that will be developed. It will enable us to create our 'energy profile', that is, to illustrate precisely where energy is used in our parish.

We plan to present our findings to the vestry with recommendations on how we can be more efficient consumers of energy - which ultimately means using less energy. And using less energy translates into better stewardship both of God's creation and of parish resources.

If you would like to volunteer to help with this audit, please contact Linda or Alan Rimer by e-mail at lbrimer@bellsouth.net. Please join us and help the Chapel of the Cross be a leader here in Chapel Hill by demonstrating our commitment to environmental stewardship.