“The Earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” Psalm 24:1

Holy Family Catholic Church is nestled on a gently sloping hill with a winding creek that runs behind a backdrop of large oak trees.  What makes Holy Family unique, however, is its blend of English, Spanish, and Portuguese, speaking parishioners.  This diversity naturally brings vibrancy to the faith community.  It also creates a lot of demand for facilities, like our Parish Center, that accommodates large gatherings. Its heavy use drives up demand for energy and water.  The nearly 90 ceiling incandescent lights burned out frequently, generated heat, and converted less than 5% of the energy they use into visible light.  The Parish Center was incredibly inefficient and costly to maintain.  Like so many other faith communities, Holy Family is so focused on meeting the spiritual needs of its community that it leaves little time to assess its infrastructure needs, such as Lighting, HVAC, plumbing fixtures, etc.  In the fall of 2019, Holy Family’s pastor was approached by a few parishioners to launch a “Creation Care Team” to promote stewardship for God's Creation in line with Laudato Si, Pope Francis’s invitation for all of humanity to care for our Common Home.Shortly after its formation, the Creation Care Team was introduced to Georgia Interfaith Power & Light and immediately connected with one of its faith principles:  “The Earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,” Psalm 24:1.  This matched well with our desire to care for pretty much - everything.  Over this past year, GIPL guided us through a Power Wise energy audit and a Water Wise water audit.  Each audit gave us a roadmap to address inefficiencies that would reduce waste and save money.  For example, converting to energy efficient LEDs in our Parish Center is estimated to reduce our energy costs by over 90%.Like the new LEDs, the future is bright for Holy Family and its partnership with GIPL will continue for years to come.  We now look at the use of every kilowatt and gallon of water, as sacred gifts and can demonstrate our stewardship as a community - in any language - Gratidão, Gratitud, Gratitude.  _____________________________________________________________________About the Author:Glenn Bosio is a member of Holy Family Catholic Church and the Creation Care team leader.