In 2018-2019, CCA received funding from the Asheville Merchants Fund (an affiliate of the Community Foundation of WNC) and support from Duke Energy and Lime Energy to replace incandescent light bulbs in churches with energy-saving LED bulbs. Fifteen congregations received energy assessments, and six qualified for grant assistance: Trinity United Methodist Church (UMC), Jubilee! Congregation; Land of the Sky United Church of Christ; Skyland United Methodist; Black Mountain Presbyterian; Circle of Mercy United Church of Christ; and Trinity Presbyterian. These six congregations replaced more than 524 light bulbs, each saving an average of $200 per month in electricity costs — this translates to: 

• 202,276 kilowatt hours of electricity not used; 
• an overall reduction of 147 metric tons of carbon emissions (equivalent to emissions from 31 cars driven for one year). 

The congregations saved money, cared for creation by reducing their carbon emissions, and made a faithful stewardship witness to their community.

One of those congregations — Trinity United Methodist Church in West Asheville — was so motivated by the savings that they recently updated their six Sanctuary chandeliers (with six bulbs each) to LED dimmable bulbs. Volunteers set up and moved scaffolding, climbed up and down to replace old LED bulbs with new ones, and then dismantled the scaffolding. In response, Pastor Nancy Dixon Walton said, “It was a huge labor of love by two dedicated church members, who saved us tons of labor cost, and their work will not only save money but serve Trinity and creation for years to come! We’ll opt for LED fixtures whenever we need to update fixtures on the remaining three floors. Thank you, CCA!”

Click here for more information about the LED Light Renewal Project.