Module 7 – Greening the Cornerstone
Guidelines on Caring for Church Premises
Church premises require care and resources to run and maintain them. Often such work is undertaken by a property steward or committee, sometimes assisted by a caretaker. These individuals or groups ensure that resources are used wisely to maintain the bricks, mortar and fabric in order that the worship, life and mission of their church may flourish.
A growing range of issues are involved in managing property including day-to-day running, maintenance, health and safety, accessibility and, at a time when caring for God’s creation is so important, environmental issues too. Because church premises can be fairly large, old and listed and have an intermittent usage, it is not always easy to identify which environmental measures are the most appropriate or effective for a particular church. Module 7, ‘Greening the cornerstone’, is designed to help property stewards and committees to consider environmental issues in their planning, decision-making and action. The suggestions given are based on good environmental practice and, in addition, some of the measures may offer long-term savings of both money and time.
‘Greening the cornerstone’ draws on the experience of churches who have adopted good environmental building practice. The module contains two main types of material: general good environmental practice, applicable to most church premises, and how to obtain a professional environmental consultation, to gain the best advice for a particular set of premises.
Download Module 7 (.doc, 212kb)
Additional materials
Resources on green buildings
Scottish Community Renewables Network
02/27/07
News on community renewables, funding sources, and forthcoming events. [More]
Energy
02/27/07
A briefing from the Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office. [More]
Note on using the modules
The Eco-Congregation modules have been designed to fit into church life and support and enhance church mission. They were designed collaboratively with churches to provide a resource that is not a textbook, but a toolkit, to suit all the different varieties of church life represented in the Eco-Congregation programme.
All congregations using our modules should first register, and registered churches can also order modules in a printed form. Find out how to register, or contact us if you’d like to know more.
All our resources may be freely copied and distributed within your church, but please accredit Eco-Congregation.
