Emmanuel, Coos Bay has been named the outstanding example of congregational environmental stewardship in the Diocese of Oregon. The award was presented by Alice Speers, convener of the Diocesan Stewardship Commission, to the Rev. Steve Tyson, Emmanuel’s rector, at the 119th diocesan convention banquet on Friday, November 9.

The church was recognized for its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint in the spirit of a new initiative called the “Genesis Covenant,” which calls for a minimum reduction of every church’s carbon footprint by half by 2015.

Emmanuel is attempting to reduce its use of fossil fuel by replacing old, inefficient furnaces with new, highly efficient ones. The church also removed old oil tanks from its property with a net decrease in its heating expenses by approximately 50 percent. Additionally, it improved the environmental quality of its energy by moving from electricity coming from 80 percent fossil fuels—mostly coal—to blocks of clean, renewable energy.

“If we all pledge to similar actions, what a difference it would make,” said Speers in presenting the award. “We don know the precise figures for Emmanuel’s reduction I their actual carbon footprint, be we don know that each of these actions makes a big difference in our witness of hope to the world and to our descendants.”