Heating challenges
We are excited to have the facility of two new spaces in the Annexe (in addition to the café) coming on stream in the new year - a large room and small chapel space. This is in addition to the two small rooms we opened last year in the main church building. With these new areas and the existing spaces in St Peter’s and St Paul’s, we are having to carefully manage our heating requirements over the winter.
As you know, energy prices have been rocketing. In addition, the Church of England and Diocese have for some time been encouraging parishes to develop eco-friendly initiatives to save energy and carbon emissions, contributing to the national agenda in these areas and in turn to benefit churches in reducing costs. There is a great deal that we need as a church to address going forward, but some immediate actions are within the control of us all, which will make a significant impact.
The PCC are understandably concerned that we take action to reduce our heating costs, where we can, but at the same time ensure that our buildings are always warm and welcoming. Hive controls are being installed in both church buildings. These will be programmed externally which will mean that spaces will be warm when people arrive, and we can steward the consumption of energy much more efficiently.
This raises an important issue as to what rooms are used for what purposes. For example, guidance issued by the London Diocese to churches says that ‘moving meetings from the main church space to smaller rooms (should be considered). These may be heated independently often with electrical heaters. This avoids wasting heat by sending it around the whole circuit for the sake of one smaller space, though electric portable heaters should be avoided if possible.’
In considering the challenges this poses, the PCC has decided that in an effort to reduce energy costs, in future where heating is needed (ie the summer might be an exception), rooms appropriate to the size of the group should be assigned for non-formal church service activities, wherever possible. As an example, the main hall at St Peter’s and, more so, St Paul’s, takes several hours to heat properly. So small meetings would be offered smaller spaces at St Peter’s instead.
Sue Haward at our Church Office will be allocating rooms using this criterion in future. The arrangement, of course, will apply to the church, community and personal requests. I hope you will understand the need for the PCC to act in this way. We agreed on this unanimously in our October 2021 PCC mtg. Clearly, we not only have to be responsible stewards for that which God has given us but to demonstrate that in how we live as church and individuals.
This will apply with immediate effect, and should this give rise to any practical problems or if further clarification is needed, please let us know.
office@stph.org.uk