“Most congregations can cut energy costs by up to 30% by investing strategically in efficient equipment, facility upgrades and maintenance. With free, unbiased information and technical support from ENERGY STAR, your congregation can more easily improve stewardship of your budget’s energy dollars, and of the earth by reducing energy waste and energy costs, while protecting [...]

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Elsewhere in this blog, I’ve addressed a common problem seen in numerous churches… that of “muddling along.” Sometimes it’s due to lack of vision and leadership. Other times it’s because people and churches are satisfied doing “enough” to satisfy their sense of “doing something,” rather than going the extra mile. Here in the “GREEN JESUS” [...]

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Churches follow fads like everyone else, and “caring about the environment” is one of the latest “cause celebs” many have suddenly discovered.  They change a few lightbulbs, put out a recycle bin on Sunday morning, preach a green sermon, and pronounce themselves “green” …then move on to the next windmill to tilt at. (Sorry if that seems harsh, [...]

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The cost of going to church has DOUBLED within the past 2 years because gas prices have doubled. And experts predict they’ll go even higher.
Imagine what that means for your members who don’t live close to the church. 
An example: Jane is spending close to $500 a year on gas to go to your church.
Here’s the breakdown: [...]

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It’s an age old question:
Is it better to leave the AC ON when you’re not in the building, -or- turn it OFF/warmer while you are gone, then turn it back on/down/cooler when needed ? ? ? 
The conventional wisdom is that IF you turn it OFF or “UP” (a lot warmer), then it will take a longer time [...]

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I ran across this cartoon the other day which gets right to the heart of the debate:

Humans and churches have a habit of getting all fired up about the “cause de jour.”  These days that includes the environment. We talk in SAINTLY TERMS about saving the environment, and being good stewards of creation, but let’s [...]

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Once upon a time, the cost of energy was so cheap churches could afford inefficient thinking and design when it came to their heating and cooling needs at churches. These days, we can’t afford to be dumb, let alone allow ourselves the hubris of waste. 
My former church was a perfect example of poor design. The thermostats for [...]

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Your asphalt parking lot is an energy monster.
Anyone who has stood in the church parking lot at noon after worship during the summer knows that black asphalt slabs are energy monsters They store massive amounts of heat, and raise the temperature of the air around your church as much as 20 degrees above what a grassy area [...]

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This little light of mine, I’m not going to let it shine….
1.  Install Motion Switches in Church Bathrooms. This idea comes from raising three daughters, none of whom could turn off a bathroom light to save their life. I replaced the standard switch with a rotary timer switch they could turn to get up to [...]

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By now everybody knows of the BIG SAVINGS when you change your old lightbulbs out for new “CFLs” …compact flourescent lights. But did you know that some of your old flourescent FIXTURES may need to be replaced too? 
According to the US Department of Energy website, newer flourescent fixtures have newer technology in them that is [...]

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This “Green Jesus” blog thread in sundayresources.net is devoted to Green Issues. I’m not a hemp wearing tree-hugger, but I do think we could all be doing a lot more politically, personally, and institutionally as Christians to protect, better share, and enjoy God’s creation. 
Your church facility and programming not only impacts the environment negatively, it spends money doing it. [...]

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