Is there a connection between Sustainability and Spirituality? After thinking about this for some time, I decided to interview Pastor Gray Southern at Apex United Methodist Church in Apex, NC and see what his thoughts were on the topic.
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Bible verses that speak to Sustainability
Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Numbers 35:34
"Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell..."
Psalm 24:1
"The earth is the LORD's, and the fullness of the world, and they that dwell therein."
Psalm 121:1
"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from where my help comes"
Deuteronomy 16:15
"For the Lord your God will bless you in your harvest and in all the work of your hands, an your joy will be complete"
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Apex United Methodist just went through some major additions and renovations over the last couple of years. Additionally, the church looked at what they could do to be more sustainable.
Here are three of their initiatives:
Layout and Design of their main campus
The layout of the church's main campus incorporates landscaping and several large trees as well as bioretention cells to capture and filter stormwater run off.
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| Diagram of Church Main Campus |
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| Original Church Entrance |
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| Bioretention Cell |
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| Bioretention Cell |
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| Bioretention Cell |
Automated Building System
Apex United Methodist Church worked with a local HVAC company, Newcomb & Company to install an automated building system. Through specialized computer software, the church staff can set temperatures for various parts of the campus and adjust based on activities and the calendar. Staff has access to adjust this program via the internet so there is flexibility 24/7 should adjustments need to made. Additionally, each space has a thermostat that can be manually adjusted plus or minus two degrees for up to four hours.
The system has already been successful in helping the church lower their cost per square foot over previous years.
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| Screen shot of an individual unit on the system |
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| Temperature map showing zones throughout church campus |
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| Calendar function of software program |
Community Garden
Finally, through donated land use, the church has established the Simple Gifts Community Garden. The garden features an organic garden benefiting the local food pantry as well as composting, a small play area for kids as well as bee hives on the outer perimeter. This is a very cool program I plan to do another blog post on this community garden in the future with more information.
In conclusion, you can see I believe there is a very deep correlation between Sustainability and Spirituality and hope you may have gotten some ideas about how you can do more with both in your life.
Thanks for checking out my blog!
Rick
apexgardner@gmail.com
@apexgardner (Twitter)
Blogs:
http://greenlivingisthelifeforme.blogspot.com/
http://apexlazydogblog.blogspot.com/
