The church received the GreenCircle Award in recognition of its work in reducing energy consumption by 6,800 kilowatts per year. The energy savings resulted from replacement of outdated fluorescent lighting fixtures with newer, more energy efficient units.
Additional environmental initiatives undertaken by the church include the use of Green Seal-approved cleaning and paper products, participation in a Connecticut River cleanup day, and showing the film, The Great Warming on Earth Day.
“These GreenCircle Awards make one lesson very clear: that everyone can make a real contribution to improving the quality of our environment,” said DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy in announcing the award. “Protecting and improving our environment is not just about laws and government regulation. It is about individuals, organizations and businesses understanding that they have a role to play and that their efforts to protect natural resources and use them wisely really do matter.”
Future plans include additional cleanup days as well as a program encouraging church members to buy power from clean energy sources. “I am encouraged by the growing evangelical commitment to the environment and hope the church can continue to find ways to conserve precious resources,” says pastor Tim Stohlberg.
In 2006, the church daycare center was given an award from Home Depot for its garden design.
To learn more about the church’s environmental initiatives, contact Stohlberg by telephone at 860-635-4032 or by email at Pastor Stohlberg.
