Church Buildings and Faithful Footprints

                                                                            Bath Abbey

 I always appreciate news about faith communities which are endeavouring to "live with respect in Creation", to use the phrase which was added to a United Church creed years ago. During the past two years so many congregations have been focussed on survival because of the pandemic which has made looking outward a challenge.

I was so impressed by the story of an initiative of Bath Abbey in Great Britain which has now been completed. We visited the Abbey the year after we were married, so 45 years ago, as part of a belated honeymoon vacation. We also had a peek at the baths which gave the city its name, a geothermal source of groundwater which the clever and hygenic Romans developed  and used for several centuries. 

It makes perfect sense that the Abbey in now drawing on the same hot springs to heat its marvellous structure. As part of the congregation’s Footprint project, a system of underfloor heating pipework has been laid in the Abbey and a plant room dedicated to the associated mechanical and electrical equipment had been installed by a team of contractors that includes Emery, Wheelers and a company called isoenergy. More than a million litres of hot water flow through a channel which stays a constant 40°C all year round. Energy is extracted from this water to produce enough energy to heat the historic Abbey as well as the adjacent row of Georgian cottages (Kingston Buildings) that house the Abbey offices, Song School and volunteer facilities.

As you can imagine this project wasn't cheap costing nearly 20 million pounds, or about 32 million Canadian dollars. It definitely helps to have funding from the government for a heritage building which has its origins in the seventh century. 

This doesn't mean that regular congregations closer to home aren't able to make their buildings more environmentally sustainable. At Trenton United, our home congregation, a green audit was completed and projects will be undertaken over time. This was encouraged by Rev. Isaac who was a staff member for a green audit program in Montreal years ago. When I served St. Paul's UC in Bowmanville we installed solar panels on a section of roof during the Ontario Retrofit Program and not only have they paid for themselves they are a source of revenue. 

Dare I suggest that one of the most responsible choices many congregations could make is closing their buildings and amalgamating with others? There are too many small groups of people kicking around in big drafty barns without much of a sense of Christian mission. 

Should millions of pounds have been spent on the heating system for Bath Abbey in a world of need? It's unlikely that the church would close given the historical and architectural value. If it still has a sense of witness to the community the case can be made for this creative and Earth-honouring response.