HELENA — You may have noticed some construction downtown on one of Helena's oldest churches, as St. Paul's United Methodist Church has new solar panels after waiting 20 years for funding.
"We're excited to not only generate electricity, but we're excited to generate excitement within our congregation - within people who see St. Paul's and say, 'I want to go to a church that cares about being green, about caring for the environment and because it is something that over the history and life of this church has been a strong value," said St Paul's and Covenant United Methodist Church pastor Bill Barksdale.
One hundred and six solar panels are now mounted to the south-facing roof of the church.
They estimate the panels will generate "95 percent of the electricity used by the church's main building for the year," saving seven to ten thousand dollars on power bills.
Barksdale said, "That, of course, will make us free to pursue our ongoing ministries and lessen the financial burden on our budget. That's just another blessing to be able to see how we can use the opportunity to serve others."
The project is estimated to cost over $110,000, and Barksdale says a grant from Northwestern Energy covered about half of the funding, with the rest covered by an endowment left by a previous pastor of the church.
Missoula's SBS Solar assisted the church in writing the grant application, and they installed the panels.
"Climate care is a huge project, but we want to do our part in mitigating the overuse of carbon fuels," said Barksdale.
St. Paul's United Methodist Church is one of Montana's oldest churches. The church was founded initially on Last Chance Gulch in 1865. The first building was a simple log cabin with a congregation of eight. The modern building was built in the mid-2000s.
In 2005, the church began constructing its new building on Logan Street, designed with solar panels in mind.
This Sunday was when the congregation heard the construction was complete.
Barksdale said, "The congregation broke out into applause. It's very much an uplifting, hopeful moment for us."
