A Greener Faith Presbyterian Church

Faith Presbyterian Church is well on its way to becoming a greener church. The Session (the governing body of the church) passed a resolution in August, 2008 to make improvements that continue us on a path to be eco-friendly.

Faith conducted an intense Green Survey in the summer of 2008.  The immediate changes that we took eliminated Styrofoam cups and plates, replacing them with coated paper product substitutes that are easily bio-degradable.  Another quick change was to convert all of our of photocopy paper and office stationery to a recycled brand of paper. Other changes will occur in the future building plans and purchases.

However, the story started in 1992 and continued into 2000 when Faith underwent two major construction expansion projects.  To save on energy consumption, we made a deliberate attempt to use only local building materials.  Additionally, we tried to limit the source of any materials at no farther than a 500 mile radius of the building. We have been quite successful doing that. The lumber packages used in our construction are a perfect example of this local emphasis. The lumber packages include all dimension lumber, plywood, OSB (Oriented Strand Board), and wood related materials that went into the construction.  The only exceptions were the GLULAM (glue laminated) arches in the sanctuary, the sanctuary roof decking, and some treated frame lumber under the platform.  Those items came from much farther away.

The importance of local materials is that there are less truck transportation miles to get it to site, therefore less fuel emissions burned up endangering the ozone layer. We tracked all of our lumber supplies not only to the brand name and headquarters of the company, but to the particular mill that cut and processed and made the pieces as well as the specific forests that the raw trees were cut from.  

We also took it a step further to inquire into how the plants operated and how processing was done in term of managing the forests for sustainability, use of recycled materials in the manufacture of plywood and OSB, the pollution and emission controls that the plant operated with, and what steps were taken to reduce any use of harmful chemicals like formaldehyde in making plywood and OSB. SFI (Sustainable Forest Initiative) standards for forests were important. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) clean air standards were rated for each plant.  Our efforts paid off and we made sure that materials only came from good sources.

The hardwood maple on the platform of our Sanctuary was all from local Indiana cuttings.  With all of our southern pine framing from Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, we were within the goal of 500 miles.

We can confirm that all concrete block, exterior limestone pieces, and interior split-face stone components all came from quarries near Bedford, Indiana.  The glass block windows in the gym came from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. All of the insulation pieces came from Crothersville, Indiana or Corning's plant in Toledo, Ohio. Toilets and urinals came from Kohler in Wisconsin, while the faucets were by Delta in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

All of the stone base, ready-mixed concrete, and asphalt parking lot paving materials came from IMI quarries in central Indiana. Source of drywall in 1992 was a National Gypsum plant in Shoals, Indiana, and the 2000 drywall supplier was the Georgia-Pacific plant in Wheatfield Indiana (which claims 96 percent recycled use content and large LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) credits). They also operate within FGD (Federal Gas Desulphurization) rules that remove sulfur dioxide from its omissions. We looked into each plant's EPA record and SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) certifications.

All Sherwin-Williams paints we used came out of Strongville, Ohio.  They were free of any VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) chemicals.  The carpet was loomed in Dalton, Georgia and meets all DOC (Department of Commerce) and NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standards.  All of our hardwood doors came from a manufacturer in Algoma Wisconsin. Door closures and hardware came from Palatine, Illinois. Cabinetry in the kitchens and bathrooms came from ProCase in Dayton, Ohio. Electrical controls and panel boxes came from Illinois.  The kitchen roof came from Elerlast in Saginaw, Michigan. Outdoor lot light poles and fixtures came from St Louis, Missouri.  

Another type of insulation came from a plant in Midland, Michigan.  The sanctuary seating was manufactured by Sauder in Archbold, Ohio with wood from forests in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The VCT (Vinyl Composition Tile) used in some rooms came from Armstrong in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Library furniture came from Broyhill in North Carolina. Our pipe organ was assembled by a builder in North Carolina.  The EIFS (Exterior Insulation Finishing System) exterior wall materials were assembled on site by a builder from Atlanta, Indiana.

Cove base at the carpet edges came from Middlesburg, Ohio. Overhead kitchen roll-up doors are from Mason, Ohio. The ceramic poured tile composite layers forming the kitchen and bathroom floors was made by General Polymer in Cincinnati, Ohio and mixed locally by a Columbus, Indiana contractor.  All structural steel and studding originated at a US Steel mill in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was bought from Ryerson Steel in Indianapolis, Indiana. Both locations meet ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards for controlling emissions and pollutants.

Our hymnbooks and our Mission Yearbooks are published in Louisville, Kentucky. CareNotes and rack came from Abbey Press in St Meinrad, Indiana. All glazing materials came from Corning in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania or AFG plant in Bridgeton, West Virginia.  All gutters and downspouts and fascia trim came from rolls purchased at Ryerson in Indianapolis, Indiana.  They were made at a steel mill in Ganant, Kentucky.

Our 6 acres of land has carefully preserved a variety of trees and bushes and plant life that supports a wide variety of wildlife including ducks, squirrels, rabbits, and migratory geese.  A retention pond with some marsh grasses adds to the wildlife by making water available, including water that drains there from our downspouts, piped underground to the pond off the sanctuary roof. The west and south borders support a property line style of trees. We have plenty of crabapple and pear trees under the power lines on the north and east boundaries.

In the lot and away from lines we can grow taller trees like pin oaks, cottonwoods, lindens, cypress, and hornbeams. We have plans in 2009 of adding more tall shade trees because we believe that good tree cover cleans the atmosphere, helps the soils, reduces heating and cooling costs, acts as a windbreak, increases property values, and catches pollutants.  We are careful not to use any harmful weed killers on our grassy areas and certainly confine them to inert natural materials.  We do add tree fertilizer to the trees that need it, but these, too, are products like ironite, garden sulfur, Osmokote, and Miracle-Gro, which have no harmful effects.  Wildlife can find water as well as feast on hickory nuts and wild berries.

The insulation (R) values of various insulating materials make our building more energy efficient. Triple pane argon gas filled sanctuary windows have an R-28 value. The thick roof of the sanctuary has an R-30 rating.  The roof over the gym has an R-27 rating.  The roof over the gym has an R-27 rating, and the attic ceiling over the nursery is an R-27 pink softness.  The education wing walls are R-18 or R-19.

The earlier furnaces and air conditioning compressors had fairly good efficiency ratings for the year 1992.  However, the new furnaces that we installed in the 2000 construction were much improved and have one of the best energy efficiency ratings. All furnaces are gas fired. All have modern programmable thermostats, and we are sensitive to using them only when the church has need or worship or meetings inside. Our heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems are certified by NEEB (National Environmental Balancing Bureau) standards to be in total balance for environmental purposes.  

Economiser sensors and damper units exist everywhere in the ductwork. Filters are all changed on a regular basis.  We use two large hot water heaters and two small booster heaters.  We have a hot water recirculation pump so that we have instant hot water when we need it, but can also set a timer to disengage when we do not need hot water or to engage during the colder winter periods. In the unheated attic space we have converted from copper pipe to the flexible Pex pipe to prevent freeze-ups. No asbestos hazards exist.

No LUST (Leaking Underground Storage Tank) issues exist.  Two backflow preventors are used to prevent any plumbing back-up issues.  The kitchen appliances have proper Energy Star ratings. For about 20 years, we have had a community recycling bin for newspapers only.  The whole neighborhood knows about this, and there is a steady flow of car coming to dump their newspapers. We are, and have been, actively into recycling.

Faith Presbyterian Church will continue to make other strides and improvements when opportunities exist.  We do not have solar panels on the roof or big windmills in the yard, but we are sincerely trying to be good stewards of the earth and its resources, and set a good example of stewardship for our members and neighbors.