CINCINNATI (WKRC) – “It’s part of our faith and part of our religious tradition to care for the Earth,” said Father Al Hirt, the pastor at St. Monica-St. George.
When St. Monica-St. George in Clifton was looking for a new roof, the parish expressed interest in installing solar panels on the church garage and parish center to harness a gift from God.
Tony Stieritz, the Director of Catholic Social Action for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati explained, “They really did what so many of us will eventually be called to do, which is to take that step forward and invest in ways that protect the Earth and also in the longer run reduce our own dependence on energy.”
This effort came at a great cost, but the parish answered the call to help the church save money and better the environment.
“We got some lead gifts from people in the parish to get the sum of the inital amount of money, and then we did a funding campaign within the parish. People could sponsor a panel, and we put a price on that of $750. Some people sponsored 10 panels, and some people went in together to sponsor a panel. Some students gave $5 in an envelope. Over a period of about a year or so, we raised the whole $160,000 dollars,” said Father Hirt.
The church isn’t just saving tens of thousands of dollars every year through more 100 solar panels on the campus. Lighting changes are also saving energy and money.
Father Hirt said, “The LED lighting in the church…because those are going to last so much longer than the ones we used to have in there, we’re not going to have to bring in a lift to get up and change the lights in all of those chandeliers every 3 to 4 years. That in itself is saving us a couple of thousands of dollars in work and new bulbs.”
A local company was used to help make the changes, but the changes weren’t just physical.
“As a born and raised Catholic from the west side of Cincinnati, this is close to my heart. To be able to help out different parishs, it means something to me. It’s not often you get to do something that you’re very passionate about that’s so rewarding as something like this,” said Matt Kolbinsky, the President of Pro Lighting & Solar.
Father Hirt says the support from the parish and Archdiocese of Cincinnati were instrumental in making this environmental initiative a success. He is thankful the community is coming together to serve God and make the world He gave us a better place.
“The less we have to use those other resources, the more we are contributing to a healthier Earth. Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si calls us to do whatever we can at the local level to slow down this climate change in the world, so we’re doing our little part here on this roof, on the roof of our garage, and with the kind of light bulbs we have now for the good of the Earth and the good of the people on the Earth,” said Father Hirt.
Post time: Jun-13-2017