St. Paul’s Solar Story

The St. Paul’s congregation has always been committed to serving not only the human community but the natural world that is our responsibility. We’ve been dedicated over decades to energy conservation, community gardens, native plantings, nutrition and health, and serving the whole human being, body, soul and spirit. Through our church mission teams we have positively impacted many people in Guatemala, Mozambique, Haiti, New Orleans, Saipan, Guam, Venezuela and Brazil. St. Paul’s has always served the greater community, offering space and services to dozens of non- church community groups for events, meetings, concerts, conferences, book readings, etc. We’ve hosted conferences and symposia, including the George Harper Lecture series of nationally recognized speakers.

History of Our 2005 Building: Built for Solar

From an 1865 cabin, we expanded to a wood frame church that burned down, then to a brick church and finally a stone church which was destroyed by the Great Earthquake of 1935. During the Depression, volunteers built what was intended to be a temporary new church with beaverboard for walls. It lasted until the early 2000s, when the balcony started pulling away from the walls on both sides. This was alarming to churchgoers, especially those who usually sat under the balcony.

For our new church building, consecrated in 2005, we required not only the latest energy savings in building design, insulation, windows and lighting, but also a south-facing roof at exactly the best angle for solar panels. We wanted solar energy, but we knew we had to wait until we paid off the building. Just fifteen years later we did that, in time for the pandemic to prevent us from meeting in person.

Now we are finally ready for the next step. Our solar project will save the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions of 48,071 pounds of coal burned per year. A North Western 70% grant will make this plan a reality in 2024. This will save approximately $10,000+ per year for the immediate future, a direct benefit to the church and all the community groups that use our facility.

Prior Energy Saving Efforts

We have completed the Energy Star Portfolio Manager platform, and our church building has been given a rating of 76, above the 70 required. We are currently waiting for a License Professional Facility Audit to be conducted soon. If it confirms the results of the 2021 Cushing Terrell Commissioning Energy Audit, then we will be the first church in Montana to receive the Energy Star designation. We have applied for the DOE Renew America's Nonprofits (RAN) Funding Opportunity grant to replace lighting and conduct other energy saving measures. We implemented various repairs and suggestions from the 2021 energy audit. We have also taken advantage of North Western's Rebate program to help offset our costs of changes already made.

Our Beliefs about God's Good Creation

Installing solar panels is one way of living up to our beliefs about being stewards of God's good creation. In 2004 the international Council of Bishops for the United Methodist Church hired one of St. Paul's laywomen, Pat Callbeck Harper, to guide their four-year process of researching and agreeing on spiritual guidance for UM churches around the world in relation to global issues including climate change. Along with our sister church, Covenant United Methodist in Helena, we sponsor the Creation Advocacy Network that conducts research and provides action opportunities regarding climate change across Montana.

Spreading the Good Word - Who Benefits?

For 158 years, St. Paul's United Methodist has been located in the heart of Helena, never more than a couple of blocks from our origin on Last Chance Gulch. Our mission has been to provide a place for seekers to live and grow in God's love and where all are welcome. From the beginning we were involved in cooperation with community groups that provide for all the various human needs of our neighbors. We have always believed that our stewardship of the natural world is our responsibility, long before we learned of climate change.

Over many decades we have strived for energy conservation, community gardens, native plantings, nutrition and health and serving the whole human being, body, mind and spirit. We have spread this approach to life as our church mission teams have impacted many people in Guatemala, Mozambique, Haiti, New Orleans, Saipan, Guam, Venezuela and Brazil.

Serving the community at large is St. Paul's legacy. Our history of providing our church space for community groups includes events, meetings, concerts, conferences, book readings, and organizing events. We've hosted conferences and symposia, including the George Harper Lecture series of nationally recognized speakers.

Every Tuesday St. Paul's provides showers to several dozen unhoused men and women. The program is managed by The United Way in collaboration with Good Samaritan, Our Place and St. Paul's. At various times throughout the year, we are the venue for Family Promise, a week­long National program for temporary housing and counseling of unhoused families.

St. Paul's 530-seat Sanctuary is acknowledged as one of the best musical performance venues in the city. As such, numerous concerts are held throughout the year by Helena's non-profit Symphony, children's groups, school concerts, recitals, and others.

Our church office estimates that approximately 10,500 Church members and attenders pass through our building each year for services, meetings, and rehearsals. They also estimate that another 9,000+ community folks use the building for meetings, concerts, weddings, funerals, recitals and events of all sorts.

Our church members and attenders will benefit both from our doing the right thing for our planet and from saving approximately $10,000+ per year in electricity costs. We will make use of those savings for our many ministries, including our outreach to the people and organizations in Helena, Montana and even other countries. Non-church groups will continue to make use of our space, benefiting from the current small charge or potential free cost well into the future.

Our visible downtown presence and planned education about our solar project will contribute a tiny step toward stabilizing our planet and helping Helena reach its carbon reduction goal of powering the community with 100% clean, renewable electricity by 2030, and Northwestern's goal as it moves toward carbon neutrality by 2050.

The community as a whole will benefit from seeing what we are doing. Hopefully we will encourage others to make energy saving commitments of their own. Our congregation's commitment to climate action will be clear to all. Our eagerness to share our history and knowledge will be evident in the education projects we have planned.