'Stewards of creation': Church goes solar with Old Testament inspiration

A southeast Georgia church is looking heavenward to energize its embrace of “creation care.”

Trinity Episcopal Church in Statesboro is Georgia’s first place of worship to tap into a statewide program that covers the upfront cost of solar arrays for homeowners and non-profit organizations otherwise priced out of a clean-energy conversion.

The 200-member congregation’s agreement last month with Georgia BRIGHT is projected to slash the church’s energy burden by more than $61,000 over the 25-year life of the deal while supplying 78% of the facility’s power.

The Capital Good Fund, Georgia Bright’s parent organization, will install, own and operate the $80,000 system and sell electricity from the 30-megawatt array to the church.

The project is the congregation’s most ambitious step in a yearslong effort to follow biblical guidance on protecting with the planet.

“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth,” God says in Genesis 1:28.

At a time when human-caused climate change is imperiling Earth and its inhabitants, that command has never been more urgent, noted Trinity’s rector, Father Charles Todd.

“When we read the creation story, the way that's worded is that we're to be stewards of creation,” Todd said. “So, that is just a fundamental part of the way we put our faith into practice.”

For Trinity, that stewardship will be manifest in the estimated 705 tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide pollution the church won’t be responsible for because the panels, not fossil-fuel-burning power plants, will be generating most of the electricity used.

That’s the equivalent of carbon emissions produced by a gas-powered vehicle traveling nearly 2 million miles, the burning of 827,000 pounds of coal or the electricity used by 148 homes for a year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“Our energy usage, our lighting, everything that we do tries to reflect our care of creation,” Todd explained.

That has included a commitment to recycling, swapping out all the church’s lights with high-efficiency LED bulbs, installing sustainably sourced carpeting, and growing fruits and vegetables that are donated to food banks or used for church dinners.

“All of those little details matter,” Todd said. “And because it's such a central aspect of the way we engage our faith and in real practice, you know all of those decisions have to take into consideration what is the most environmentally friendly option at this moment.”

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‘Cost effective and environmentally acceptable’

Those choices also can inspire persuasive displays of discipleship.

While property owners often go to great lengths to hide solar panels – sometimes in response to pressure from community members who consider them eyesores – Trinity's leadership vestry insisted the array be situated in as prominent a location as possible.

“Because creation care is such an essential element of our Episcopal engagement with our faith, that that was one of the top priorities that the vestry had, that they wanted them out front and visible from the road so everybody can see,” Todd explained. “We want to make a statement to our community about the importance of groups like Trinity pursuing alternative sources of power.”

Trinity began exploring solar in 2020 with the help of nonprofit organization Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, which reached out to several installers on the church’s behalf.

But the cost quotes from those companies proved prohibitive – until Georgia BRIGHT became an option.

The program leverages tax credits, grants and other resources to lower the price of solar for homeowners making less than $100,000 a year and “mission-aligned” organizations across the state.

The savings – and a “creation care” mission – sold Trinity on Georgia BRIGHT.

“We have tried to make decisions that will be cost effective and environmentally acceptable at the same time,” Todd said. “Our budget is not terribly big, but we do a lot with the little we have.”

John Deem covers climate change and the environment in coastal Georgia. He can be reached at jdeem@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia church taps Bible's creation story for solar inspiration