Creation Care in Action
West Concord Union Church is a historic United Church of Christ congregation in Concord, Massachusetts, that strongly supports a range of social justice causes. To demonstrate their commitment to Creation Care, they knew it was time to invest more in “greening” the church.
NEED
After installing solar panels on their roof several years ago, WCUC wanted to update the church’s oil-fueled HVAC system (pictured on the right). It was old, inefficient, and expensive. The system generated more than 140,000 pounds of greenhouse gases annually.
CALLING
West Concord Union Church was called to increase their commitment to Creation Care by installing a more efficient and less expensive heat pump HVAC system. With a total project cost of $1.3 million for the HVAC construction, West Concord Union Church was prompted to look outside of the congregation for the necessary financial solutions.
God Math
The Cornerstone Fund’s Creation Care loan, which came with a reduced interest, was put to work to finance the new HVAC project’s $1.3 million price tag.
Thanks to an effective capital campaign, revenue from various church tenants, notable property assets, and the Cornerstone Fund loan, the congregation updated its HVAC system. The new system is expected to save the congregation $30,000 to $40,000 annually. And thanks to this new HVAC system, the church is now carbon neutral.