Smyrna church shines light by turning off the lights

A small team of about 10 people at is doing its part to make the church, and eventually the entire community, a greener place with the help of Georgia Interfaith Power and Light.

St. Benedict’s is a relative newcomer to Smyrna. The church formed about three years ago and before the congregants even had a building they had a Green Team, a group whose focus is to make sure the church takes steps toward sustainability.

“Part of what we wanted to do is educate the church and make St. B’s be the green church and sort of identify itself this way,” said Clark Efaw. “If you’re going to do that you have to promote awareness.”

Some of the steps Efaw and the Green Team have taken to promote this sense of awareness include partnering with Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, a state chapter of Interfaith Power and Light, a nonprofit, non-sectarian faith organization that helps all communities of faith be responsible stewards of natural resources.

St. Benedict’s was award a $12,500 grant through GIPL’s Power Wise program, a program that performs energy audits, creates energy efficiency plans and awards grants for efficiency improvements. GIPL is able to fund these efforts from the $400,000 it received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and a $200,000 donation from the Kendeda Fund. With this money, GIPL estimates that it can assist 15,000 congregations in Georgia reduce their power bills.

St. Benedict’s is one of those 15,000 congregations taking steps to reduce energy costs. Efaw explained that St. Benedict’s was an ideal candidate for a Power Wise grant because at the time, they hadn’t established a physical church yet. The congregation was still meeting in the gym at while their church, formerly Locust Grove Baptist, was renovated. The money from the Power Wise grant was used to install added installation and energy efficient air conditioning units while renovations were taking place.

But the Green Team hasn’t stopped there. The team has taken steps to ensure that the church recycles paper by providing a recycling dumpster in the parking lot. They also encourage members to use ceramic coffee cups instead of paper cups at meetings and other church functions.

“A lot of the things we do are not really structured,” Efaw said. “You kind of keep it in front of people and make them aware that you’re in the church and this is what the church does. This part of your mandate is to do this.”

Currently the Green Team is working to install Venetian blinds on the north windows of St Benedict’s school building where there are no shade trees. Efaw said he hopes this will keep the building cooler and keep people from having to adjust the thermostat.

Eventually, Efaw said the Green Team would like to take on bigger projects like landscaping St. Benedict’s parking lot to provide more shade. Efaw explained that this would have far-reaching benefits for more than just St. Benedict’s members.

“You’re standing out here in the middle of an asphalt parking lot,” he said. “It’s hot isn’t it? This thing is generating this big blob of heat for the neighborhood. The neighbors have to crank up their air conditioning because we’re heating up the area.”

Efaw’s goal to landscape the parking lot for the benefit of the church and the community as a whole illustrates his entire philosophy regarding sustainability and his faith.

“You can’t practice Christianity while you’re ignoring what you’re doing to people around you,” he said. “You have to do something about it. It’s really part of examining yourself as a member of society and making sure that you’re actually living with integrity. You can’t live with integrity if you’re doing stuff to people that hurts them and ignoring it at the same time.”