In 2006, the church had bills from EWB for Fr5393.70 for electricity, water, sewerage and refuse disposal, and consumed Fr6647.30-worth of oil. And costs were only this low thanks to Richard’s efficient guardianship of the radiators and the church heat regulation system.
A further saving should be possible, and even an economy of 10% would save us over Fr1000 a year. Some things we could look at would be:
1) replacing our freezer with a modern energy-efficient model. Would this pay for itself? (We might even qualify for a grant of up to Fr200 from EWB – see www.ewb.ch/oekofonds). A front-loading freezer would also have the advantage that the catering team could actually find things!
2) installing solar panels on the roof of church house for water heating. Said to effect impressive savings – and again grants are available
3) investigating the possibility of replacing our current oil-based system with a heat pump – cheaper and ecologically sounder
4) small, trivial things, like replacing the few incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving bulbs
I was talking to Sharon recently about an idea that I’ve had and she said that she had the same idea years ago and submitted it to council–but it ws not taken up then, maybe now would be a good time to consider it again. It would be good if we could have something like the swiss version of a ‘Sigrist’ for the church. That would be someone who lives on the premises and is responsible for all the daily running and maintenance of the building and making sure that it is prpared for all the different groups that use the buildingsand is cleared up and secured afterwards…All the hundreds ot things that are involved with running such a building for so many people. An eye could be kept on the efficient running of the heating etc.,etc… They could live in Church House. The new chaplain could live away from the church and therefore be free for all the spiritual/pastoral duties withou the constant interuptions that were so burdensome for Richard. What do you all think??
I think this is a very good idea and should be considered very carefully together with the appointment process i.e. now!
This is exactly the set up we had with our church in Winchester (GB) and it really did leave the Chaplain free to focus on key ministerial duties.
Perhaps one disadvantage, in our case in Berne, would be the cost of an additional property for the Chaplain.
I would like to see this followed up in more detail and for further analysis and discussion.
Well done Sharon and Sue!
The cost of accommodating our chaplain would be a factor to be considered. But, as Pieter says, other churches do this (not only in Winchester – consider the Münster!).
The house and hall were built in the face of opposition from the neighbours, and as a result of the legal situation, we could not, for example, rent the house to an outsider. We should remember that the house was built using donations, originally from the 1953 Coronation Fund, which were earmarked for “a parsonage”, as a solution to a long period when chaplains had lived in hotels, accommodation in Elfenau, and, at that time, in the flat we rented at Kirchenfeldstrasse 50. It was a recurring theme until the 1950s that it was less than ideal for the chaplain to live in rented accommodation – who will buy / give / bequeathe a permanent property for our chaplain?