Religious Groups Across Canada See the Green Light

August 25, 2007

Author: Kathryn Young

Source: The Vancouver Sun/CanWest News Service

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=3dd15772-dd9f-4416-afb6-65be3378a7ed

Solar panels aren't mentioned in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, so Rev. Margaret Cornish has had to write her own blessing for a special dedication service on Sunday.

As she climbs on to the roof of St. Alban's Anglican Church in Richmond, B.C., she plans to ask that "the blessed sun shine on us and warm these panels, our hearts and this sacred place."

Solar panels are joining the crosses that adorn Christian churches, as well as a Calgary synagogue and a Toronto mosque as faith groups across Canada act on the so-called Green Rule: "Do unto the Earth as you would have it do unto you."

Cornish said her solar panels are "an outward and very visible sign that we are deepening our commitment to important environmental issues."

Congregations are also caulking air leaks, reducing garbage, conserving water, and installing rain barrels, compact fluorescent light bulbs, energy efficient furnaces and appliances -- all in an attempt to live out their common belief that humans need to care for their planet.