The Creation Care Council (CCC) is a group of church members who meet several times each year to help the congregation continue to make strides toward sustainability. Three subgroups meet more frequently with a narrower area of focus: the Creation Care Building Council (CCBC) works at the physical structure of the church facility, the Creation Care Property Council (CCPC) addresses the space between the building and boundary lines, and the Climate Change Reparations Committee (CCRC) manages the climate emissions policy of the church. Following is a sample list of actions, taken in the name of creation care, since the CCC began in 2009:

  • Photovoltaic solar panels were installed in two phases; the current system is 33KW and supplies approximately half of the church’s electricity demand.
  • Quarterly data is provided to the church on the performance of the solar PV array, including power generation and environmental benefits (offsets)
  • New and refurbished bike racks, under cover, to encourage biking over driving
  • Replaced mowing contract with hiring church youth using carbon-neutral reel mowers
  • Replaced motorized snow removal from walks, hiring youth to shovel manually
  • Converted large section of grass to natural rain garden; this not only reduced the area that would have been mowed, but it also improved storm water runoff from parking lot
  • Most of the commodes in church facility have been replaced with water-saver models
  • Most thermostats in church facility were replaced to reduce energy consumption
  • 15 older windows were replaced with high energy efficient glass and frames
  • An old fireplace was decommissioned and the flue was plugged and insulated
  • Practice was established to recycle organic kitchen waste to a local farmette
  • Recycle bins were placed at more locations to collect paper waste for recycling
  • An energy audit was performed to find weak spots in the church envelope.  As a result, spray insulation was applied in one large section of the building, and air leaks were sealed in ductwork and at exterior doors
  • The church magazine that was previously printed and distributed in hard copy form to all attenders has migrated to electronic form emailed to members and available on website
  • We began the process of converting light fixtures to most-efficient LED type, starting with the lights that use the most energy because of either size or time of use
  • Valves were turned shut on hot water supply to sinks, except in the coldest months
  • A Creation Care Fund was established to receive donations from members, some of which may come from a voluntary gas tax (VGT).  CCC then dispatched a member to visit each adult Sunday School class to explain the fund and the VGT program
  • CCC sponsored a six-week elective Sunday School class on creation care issues
  • Commitment to consider geothermal HVAC systems when any current units need replaced
  • Developed and implemented a full-cost-pricing model on climate emissions, effectively recognizing complicity and assuming responsibility.


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