PHOTO: BEETHANY BAPTIST CHuRCH, OTTAWA
PHOTO: MICHAEL HuDSON
bethany baptist Church in Ottawa (far left) and its gardens (top right). The Anglican Church of the
resurrection in Toronto (above) makes its allotments available to both parishioners and members
of the local community.
Churches that aren’t planning on building new can adopt a
policy to replace broken-down components – heating, toilets and
light fixtures – with more sustainable alternatives. Grants are
sometimes available. In Ontario, for example, churches can take
advantage of $1000 worth of free lighting and a free lighting audit.
Where a church has neither the budget nor the need to replace
things, it can devote time to raising awareness. Guindon suggests
hosting educational sessions on organic gardening, energy ef-
ficiency and environmental issues, discussing care for creation
during worship, and getting the Sunday school to make signs – a
proven way to involve the youngest members and get people
turning off lights. At Bethany Baptist Church in Ottawa, Ont.,
for example, summer Sunday school is replaced by the Green
Thumb Club, where children are introduced to the “joys of grow-
ing and eating organic vegetables and caring for God’s world,”
reports former pastor Isobel McGregor.
