28 Mar Blessed Sunshine – St. David’s Parish Leads Downtown Austin Into The Solar Age!
There is a new liturgy in Austin!
With these words, Episcopal Bishop Andy Doyle blessed the last of 570 solar panels to be installed over St. David's Parish parking garage in central Austin:
"O heavenly Father, who for eons bathed us with energy from the sun to be captured in carbon and released for our use in recorded history through combustion. We thank you for the gift of intellect whereby we can now capture that precious resource directly thus being better stewards of the environment around us. Grant that these Solar Panels may bring brightness, warmth and cooling for the comfort and assistance of your people – reflecting more closely the purity of your glory for you are the eternal light through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"
A new liturgy is born to fulfill a new mission as 'better stewards of the environment around us.' The service on March 2, signaled the completion of the 148 KW solar installation at St. David's Parish which had been the long time dream of Parish Administrator Terry Nathan. After ten years of research, the pricing and technology all aligned and the project was begun last year. With Nathan's astute financial analysis, the panels save money for the congregation from they day they are activated with a cumulative savings per year of $11,806 over the life of the 10-year loan. A free side benefit is the shading that the array provides for cars parked on the upper deck of the eight story garage.
Here is a video of the installation process, followed by the blessing and installation of the final solar panel.
Here's to hoping that many other congregations in downtown Austin follow Nathan's lead – there is a wealth of rooftops in downtown that could benefit from the sunshine too.
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