THE VICAR'S LETTER

Renewable Energy – Renewed Hope

On March 4^th Joanna and I went to St. Marks Church in St. Marks Gate to learn about renewable energy and to see the solar panels on the roof that provide about half of the electricity needed by the church and preschool.  There were cameras from ITN and you may have seen the coverage on the London News that afternoon.

At last government, local authorities, business and individuals are working together to make renewable energy a reality.  It will soon be the case that every new building in London will have solar panels and wind turbines on the roof and not take any net energy from the grid.

This is an area where the church should be setting the pace and not dragging behind.  We care about the environment that God has given us and we care about the kind of world we leave to our children.  It would be so good if we can show we care by making church buildings examples of how energy can be generated without harming the environment.

Isn’t it amazing that almost all churches are aligned east–west which means they have a south facing roof - ideal for solar panels!  All part of God’s foreordained plan.  For some reason St Paul’s Church was built north - south and as a result we have no south-facing roof!  

I would like to see us take the challenge seriously and make the church building a statement of our commitment to the future.  I hope we will be able to make our homes environmentally friendly too and find out how to get the grants that are available.

St. Marks Church have managed to apply for grants and see the whole project through and it was so encouraging to see what can be done.

Easter is about hope.  Hope that springs from the resurrection and feeds every part of our lives.  As Christians we often focus on the hope of heaven when we die but the hope that Jesus  brings  is  about  this   life too.  However bleak the future of this planet looks – and every day there is bad news from somewhere or other – we have hope in a God who loves this world and can bring new things into being.  Let us show we believe in the hope of new life by caring for this planet God has given us, our children and future generations.

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