by Tim Murphy 1/10/25 Acknowledging the need to be good stewards of our earth, the opportunity that was acted upon over the last few years was to reduce the electricity consumption and to a lesser degree the cost throughout the St. Joseph’s Church and School campus. Prior to 2020 the campus kilowatt usage was trending up and well over 30,000 kWh per RG&E billing period. With the help of a generous congregation member Kevin Sweeney at Kolvasky-Carr Electrical Supply Company we

From St. Francis of Assisi's Laudate Deum, Oct 4th, 2023 Reflections by Ruth Marchetti, Oct 16th, 2023 For Catholics and many other Christians, St. Francis of Assisi is the beloved patron saint of the environment, so it’s very fitting that on October 4 of this year, the feast day of St. Francis, Pope Francis released Laudate Deum (Praise God), “a letter to all people of good will on the climate crisis”. This letter might be seen as a brief sequel to Laudate Si’, his encyclica

By Jim Leunk, member of RCRC The Rochester Christian Reformed Church is located on Atlantic Ave in Penfield Our church installed rooftop solar panels in 2021 to power its building entirely with clean electricity, seeking to encourage environmental stewardship and follow the biblical mandate to care for God’s creation. According to Rochester Area Interfaith Climate Action, ours is the first solar-powered house of worship in the Rochester area. A 90-panel array sends surplus p

by Ruth Marchetti photo by H. Robert Herman Temple Sinai, a Reform Jewish congregation, is just over the Brighton border, but still very much a part of the Penfield community. The building is striking; it seems almost to grow out of the woods that surround it. From inside, the ivy winding up the chapel walls blends with the view through the glass. It’s not surprising that congregants at Temple Sinai have embraced a tradition of stewardship and partnership in the ongoing work

by Ruth Marchetti Take a drive past Browncroft Community Church and you won’t see solar panels on their beautiful blue roof, yet this faith community is saving money and caring for the gift of God’s creation through their share in a solar farm.  Since nonprofits, such as churches, do not pay taxes, they can’t benefit from the kind of tax breaks that make solar energy an affordable option for businesses and homeowners. However, solar farms depend on consumer demand for green e