Over the past two days a team of guys who look as though they want to be in where it is warm have been installing the brackets for our array of solar panels. St. Paul's is participating in the Ontario Microfit program, which means we install the panels at our expense and the province buys back the electricity which we generate. Our outlay of just over $50,000 comes in the form of a loan from Oshawa/Lakeridge Presbytery. The contract commitment from the government will realize in the neighbourhood of $115,000.
While we are pleased to make some money, we also feel that generating a clean and alternative form of energy is an expression of our desire to "live with respect in Creation," as our United Church statement of faith invites us to do.
We also hope passersby will notice, and realize that while we have a historic building we are not old in our thinking and acting. Over the next few days media outlets of various kinds will visit, film, photograph and spread this aspect of our good news -- part of the Good News of Christ.
I wrote about this before, to announce that we were entering into this project. But we are excited now it is tangibly taking shape. Make sure you take a look as you drive or walk by.
Any comments about all this? Do you support our thinking?
Does fracking just sound rude to you? Take a look at the latest Groundling blog entry.
http://groundlingearthyheavenly.blogspot.ca/2013/01/promised-land.html
5 comments:
I definitely support it. Anything that contributes to the protection of our environment is a good thing in my books.
I think you summed it up nicely, here:
"We also hope passersby will notice, and realize that while we have a historic building we are not old in our thinking and acting. Over the next few days media outlets of various kinds will visit, film, photograph and spread this aspect of our good news -- part of the Good News of Christ."
Cool idea!
100% support this! I love the "new" thinking of the church, this is one of the reasons I chose to be brave and walk through the doors almost a year ago. I can only hope this continues with the changing of the guard, so to speak!
I support the concept of protecting the enviroment, by generating clean energy.
My only concern is the government involvment. A contract is nice, but they have recently shown that they can legislate their way around little things like the right to collective barganing (Teachers)Also they can raise taxes without raising taxes. How many of you had a substancial increase in your MPAC property assessment. They simply instruct MPAC to increase your property value, and they collect a percentage of your property value as property tax. Higher values higher revenu, but they didn't raies the tax.
If I didn't challenge mine it would have worked out to over a $2000 increase annualy over 4 years.
Did anybodies property value go down since the reccession started? I've not heard of any.
Although I played no part in the decision to install the panels, it makes me proud. I believe that it also provides our youth with an argument to go back to school with, when they can proudly say that their church community is doing something about the environment and not just talking about it.
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