ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
St Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Whitemarsh has been around for over 300 years. We plan to be around a lot longer. In order to care for our blessings and God’s beautiful creation, we practice sustainability on our campus and have adopted The Genesis Convenant.
THE GENESIS COVENANT
The Genesis Covenant was adopted by the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 2009 and calls on churches to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from their facilities and operations by 50% within ten years. St. Thomas’ Vestry endorsed The Genesis Covenant in 2019. An inventory of our carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions was performed in 2021 by Gabel Associates.
St. Thomas’ solar project reduces our greenhouse gas emissions by 36.1%. Energy conservation/ efficiency measures, fuel switching, and other strategies are needed to reduce our emissions to fulfill our commitment to The Genesis Covenant by 2029.
To help churches fulfill their commitments, the Episcopal Church has produced a helpful guide entitled “Getting Started on the Genesis Covenant: Reduce Energy Use, Save Money, and Care for God’s Creation.”
LEVEL I ACCREDITED ARBORETUM
Our property features herbaceous shrubs, memorial gardens and over 600 specimen trees representing 84 unique species of which 46 are identified and tagged for arboretum viewing. The arboretum is open to the public and free of charge. St. Thomas’ is dedicated to promoting and maintaining its landscape in a manner which adheres to the principles of aesthetics, environmental sustainability, function and historic preservation, thereby contributing to its overall sense of welcome, comfort and joy for parishioners, visitors and the surrounding community.
“Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord a memorial.” Isaiah 54:13
For more information, please visit Arbnet | St Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Whitemarsh
SOLAR FIELD
In response to the Genesis Covenant, St. Thomas Church broke ground on a solar farm, nestled in the northeast corner of the campus, in the summer of 2020. The solar array is projected to provide 85% of the electrical needs for the entire campus.
COMPOSTING
St Thomas’ is working on replacing all of our one-time use paper goods to recycled or compostable goods. We have installed a new Energy Star dishwasher in our kitchen and encourage everyone to bring their own mugs to coffee hour and meetings.
We have enlisted Back to Earth composting to reduce our trash on campus. We have reduced the amount of trash cans in our buildings and moved to a compost-recycle-trash central area in our Parish House and kitchen, where all food waste and compostable goods go. The compost is picked up and taken to a special facility where it is turned into beautiful fertilizer.
COMMUNITY GARDENS
St. Thomas’ offers 20’ x 20’ garden plots for rent to the community. Please contact Maureen Lucak for more information. Include your email address and phone number to be added to the community garden distribution email.