Sustainability
We read a lot about the need to be “green” and “save the planet.” But people of faith have always known that stewardship of God’s creation is one of our primary missions. Forest Hill Church follows Christ’s teachings to care for all living things and works continuously to care for the earth and all its creatures while sharing the good news of the Gospel.
Our Adult Education ministry crafted a well-attended series in October, 2009 shaped around Sustainability and the Stewardship of Creation. Dr. Tim Beal, professor of religion at Case Western Reserve University, set the biblical context. Paul Alsenas, Director of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission, shared the good news of what the county is doing to promote sustainable development. And lay leaders Dave Neff and Keith Logan offered their knowledge about energy and faithful conservation.
The Justice & Mission ministry is forming a new “Green Team” to oversee saving energy and saving the environment within our own building. Together with the Stewardship ministry, this team hopes to build on the environmental initiatives of the past and discover new ways to to be good stewards of God’s creation.
Here are some of the ways our building and building practices have changed to meet our sustainable mission initiatives:
- Increased insulation in main areas (1977, 2006)
- Installed triple track storm windows (2005-2008)
- Installed new boilers with computer controls for increased efficiency (2006)
- Replaced paper tableware with china and silver usage in Fellowship hall (2000)
- Upgraded and scheduled exhaust system operation for sanctuary and restrooms for more efficient utilization(2002)
- Converted 80% of lighting to fluorescent (mid-1990’s - 2006)
- Replaced large kitchen appliances and cooler with more efficient units (2005, 2007)
- Established an Abitibi paper waste recycling center open to the community (2008)
- Created Abundance Acres vegetable garden to provide fresh produce to neighborhood families in need (2009)
- Switched to “green” cleaning chemicals (2009)
- Replaced playground surface with 13 tons of rubber mulch recycled from 2,000 ground-up tires (that’s a set of 4 tires for every Forest Hill member!) (2009)
- Recycled the old bark playground mulch by re-using it to mulch the trees throughout our grounds (2009)
Pastor John Lentz and member Mark Chupp participated in the recent Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Project. Knowing the intense interest at Forest Hill for this mission, John volunteered to be part of a small group asked to write a document expressing the vision of the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 project. Read the initial draft of this statement here. Feel free to call John at 216-321-2660, email him, or leave your comments here. You can also follow the Sustainable Cleveland Project on Facebook.
Keep track of what’s happening with the Sustainable Cleveland project at GreenCityBlueLake Institute.