Care of the Earth is central to all discipleship and stewardship in our lives and is achieved through encouragement and education, enabling change within our daily life as individuals, church, and greater community.
Our Guiding Principles
Consciously living healthy and sustainable lifestyles
Inspiring our church community to embrace Earth Care practices through worship, education, and communication
Enabling change in how FHC manages the building, operations, and staff
Providing thoughtful leadership for surrounding community on Earth Care Practices
Goals
Design FHC Earth Care Strategy (Essence) and Action Plan
Explore strengths/weaknesses and identify opportunities
Brainstorm ideas/goals and draw in expertise from congregation
Develop Earth Care Education Programs For Our Church Community
Adult Education (e.g., 2-week program in Fall)
Invites to adults and mid-sr. high groups.
PreK-6th grade programs (e.g., 2-week program in Fall)
Study & Make Recommendations for Waste and Reduction, Recycling, and Building Operations Methods
Work with local faith-based procurement team to determine opportunities
Implement improved recycling/waste programs
Encourage alternative transportation opportunities
Develop Earth Care Programs As Part Of Worship
Create a Portal of Information to Share Across Communities
FHC is a PC(USA) Certified Earth Care Congregation
Our Earth Care Team, along with the Justice & Mission and Stewardship ministries, focuses on conservation and sustainability practices within our building. Building on past efforts while looking for new ways to reduce our energy footprint, Forest Hill was the first of two Ohio churches to be certified as an Earth Care Congregation by the PC(USA)’s Environmental Ministries department and has qualified every year since. Qualifying is a big undertaking – of the 9,000 or so churches in our denomination, there are less than 250 Earth Care Congregations nationwide.
Here’s how we changed our building practices to meet this goal:
Conducted a comprehensive energy/facilities audit with an outside consulting firm
Increased insulation in main areas
Installed triple-track storm windows
Installed new boilers with computer controls for increased efficiency
Replaced paper tableware with china and silver usage in Fellowship Hall
Upgraded exhaust system for sanctuary and restrooms
Converted 80% of lighting to fluorescent
Replaced large kitchen appliances and cooler with more efficient units
Established a paper waste recycling center open to the community
Switched to “green” cleaning chemicals
Replaced playground surface with 13 tons of rubber mulch recycled from 2,000 ground-up tires
Recycled the old bark playground mulch by re-using it to mulch the trees throughout our grounds
Added bicycle racks to our parking area for those who bike instead of drive to church
