We are closing in on our installation start date and just waiting for the City of Portland to sign off on the permit. Once our contractor receives the permit, they should be ready to go and will start around September 14th. Our financial picture has changed since the last update and we now have a grant from The Diocese of Oregon as well as the Blue Sky Grant. These grants will cover a majority of the cost and we are grateful to be recipients of these generous grants. So our liability will be small. Once installation is complete we will begin to see monthly savings from our energy usage.

This project is grounded in the Care of Creation and in thoughtful Environmental Stewardship. Our leadership in these areas for our community echo back many years and we continue to strive to be better inhabitants of God’s gift of this vibrant and beautiful earth on which we live and love. But now, more than ever, we are being called to do more as our earth has suffered tremendously in the last three centuries from industrial growth and neglect. For us, this step supports our conviction to a greener and healthier earth and benefits us by reducing cost and also reducing our own carbon footprint.

Looking forward, we are planning celebrations around the completion of the project. On Friday, October 16th at 2pm, we will have a public celebration and ribbon cutting ceremony. We are also planning a congregational celebration Sunday for the solar project. So stay tuned for the date. Hope you can join us and stay tuned for more follow ups.

Dan Bagwell, Solar Coordinator and Green Team Representative