A Letter from Pastor Mark - June



Dear Friends,
I would like to bring something to your attention that doesn’t fall into the area of ministry or of spiritual concern.  You might call it dealing with some housekeeping or logistic issues.
I believe that as a church we need to be as energy consumption conscious as possible.  I believe that for two reasons:
· It makes environmental sense to use only the amount of energy (heating, lights etc.) that we need.
· It also helps us be better stewards of the financial resources of the church.  We shouldn’t waste electricity and heating energy because they cost money.
So, with that being said, I need to ask your help with something.  Many times I come to the church very early to start my work day.  When I arrive, it is not unusual to find lights burning (not security lights but other lights) through a large part of the church building.  Most of the time the lights in the main restrooms in the Gathering Place are on overnight.
I believe that as groups leave the church, they believe that the custodial people will turn off the lights.  Often times they do, however, we no longer have hired custodians.   In order to save money we use a custodial service rather than the church hiring a custodial staff.  Therefore, we do not get the level of attention to such things as turning off lights as we might if the custodian was a direct part of the SUMC staff.

So, this is how each of how each of you can help.  In the evening when you leave, make sure that the lights in the room that you are using are turned off.  If they aren’t turned off, chances are they will burn all night.  When you leave the building, regardless of what time of day it is, and there are lights on in the Gathering Place or the restrooms, please take the time to turn the lights off.  If there is someone still in the building who will need the lights, they can turn the lights back on and then turn them off when they leave.
If we think that someone will come along behind us and turn off the lights, chances are it is not going to happen.  Please, take the extra few seconds and make sure the lights are off.  This will help us to consume only the energy we need and pay only for the energy we need.
Thanks so much for your help with this issue.
In Christ’s Abundant Love,
Pastor Mark


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