Arlington Church Wins Top Award For Its Commitment To Climate

ARLINGTON, VA — Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ’s commitment to fighting climate change over the past 15 years landed it a top award in the 2022 Cool Congregations Challenge.

Rock Spring, on Little Falls Road in Arlington, was named the 2022 winner of the Energy Saver category in the challenge, sponsored by Interfaith Power & Light, a nonprofit group that seeks to motivate people of faith to take steps to address climate change.

The award was based on the church’s commitment to making its campus a net-zero carbon emitter and its educational outreach to the congregation and the wider community.

In its contest entry, titled “Leading by Example,” Rock Spring outlined how it is spending $405,000 on a two-phase project to decrease its energy usage.

"Our challenge was to make our sanctuary and church campus more energy efficient so that we could decrease energy costs, reduce our carbon footprint, and use the energy savings for meaningful action in line with our values," Rev. Laura Martin, a Rock Spring associate pastor, explained in the church's contest entry.

The church's investments have the potential to lower the church’s annual utility bills by 85 percent, from about $37,000 to $5,000, according to an Energy News Network report.

The Rock Spring sanctuary was built in 1940, with additions made in 1955 and 1981. All the buildings on the Rock Spring campus have a square footage of 32,990.

The church purchased green energy, converted 200 light fixtures to LED, purchased new HVAC systems with condensing boilers rated at 93 percent efficiency and increased insulation.

But Martin said the church wanted to do more as the congregation witnessed the acceleration of climate change. Rock Spring had the campus evaluated by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, an assessment that revealed much wasted energy, especially in the sanctuary.

Rock Spring’s journey to a net-zero carbon emitter will take several years, although the church is well on its way, Martin wrote in the contest entry. Last October, as part of the first phase of the net-zero transformation, a solar panel installation on its Carpenter Hall roof was completed. The solar installation is expected to create energy savings of 52 percent.

The next phase will include weatherproofing and shades for the sanctuary's large windows, replacement of other windows, and automation for heating, cooling and room lighting.

Martin is hopeful the award from Interfaith Power & Light will be a beacon for others. Asked how the Arlington church plans to spend $1,500 in first-place prize money from Interfaith Power & Light, she told Energy News Network. “We will certainly put it toward net-zero work.”