The Electricity-Free Church
Three Scenarios
As churches respond to the climate crisis there is increasing interest in the use of solar panels to generate ‘green’ electricity. Often overlooked in the discussion is the fact the fabrication and maintenance of the panels requires the use of large amounts of fossil fuel energy. But, leaving that important caveat aside, a more fundamental question is, ‘Do we need electricity to run the church?’ After all, the church grew to its present size over a period of nearly two thousand years before Faraday came up with his laws.
The following three scenarios provide food for thought.
Scenario 1 — Solar Panels for Churches
In July 2023 the Episcopal church held a three day revival conference in Baltimore, Maryland. One of the conference tracks was to do with Creation Care. A panel discussion within that theme was to do with the installing solar panels at local churches. The speakers shared their considerable knowledge and experience to do with technology and the finances to do with this important topic.
Scenario 2 — A Power Failure
I attend a medium-sized church in central Virginia. We have a regular service every Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. On one of those mornings there was an area-wide power failure, so there was no lighting or no heating in the church.
It was winter time — the inside temperature was about 55F/13°C. However, there was plenty of natural light, so we had no trouble reading the prayer book. (The only artificial light came from the candles on the altar.) We stayed warm by wearing warm clothing.
Many people said how much they enjoyed this electricity-free service.
Scenario 3 — The Pavilion
This year (2023) our church built an outdoor pavilion. We have two services on a Sunday morning. The first of these, which is held at 8:00 a.m., follows the Rite 1 format. Attendance is usually around 10-12 faithful souls. The decision was made to hold this service outside in the new pavilion during the summer months. The service is held without the use of electricity. (The sound system is used for concerts.)
Participation has increased dramatically. We now have 25 or more people at this service (and the average age has dropped quite a bit). People seem to appreciate this electricity-free worship service.
Thoughts
The conference panel discussion to do with solar power was based on an unspoken assumption that we need to maintain the style of worship that we have adopted in just the last few decades. Yet, the church grew and flourished for almost 2,000 years before the use of electricity.
One of the guidelines we offer at this site is,
Accept and adapt
Maybe we need to accept that reliable supplies of reasonably cheap electricity are not something we can take for granted any more. We should think about adapting to an electricity-free church.