Chuck the Chandelier

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. (Gen 1:3 NIV)

Have you ever stood in awe looking at those huge and beautiful chandeliers that decorated those old church buildings out there? Well, I have. As a kid, I was so proud of the fact that my church had a real big chandelier in its altar. There was a huge debate where to install the sixteen-bulb piece when it was donated to the church some filthy rich member of our church. The Vicar of that time decided to have it in the altar, hoping that at least would shift the congregation’s attention to the altar (and to himself) for a while.


[image courtesy: the ubiquitous google]

Last May, I had been to a small church – as small as a 40 student classroom – in Bangalore. The room (Church) was part of a multi-storeyed building that houses shops, and other establishments. It looked like a very humble place from the outside. But once I entered, I was taken aback by the sight that I saw there. They had a proper stage with all the musical instruments that you can think of. What surprised me even more was the presence of an array of disco lights!!! Yeah, the dedicated light operator changed colours and the intensity of the lights as the songs and the prayers reached a crescendo. What a “dramatic” effect. I could feel the “spirit” filling every one present there (almost everyone. There were other newcomers like me who were gaping at the whole setup).

The Church at Mavelikara, Kerala, is more than 160 years old and was huge enough to house the mammoth light installation. The Church in Bangalore was an independent church and was therefore a new one. They didn’t have all those chandeliers may be because they found those kind of lights too traditional for a modern congregation.

Whatever it be, have we ever thought on the ecological impact of all those high wattage installations in our worship places? We talk about “green parishes” these days, where the church authorities put up a “plastic-free zone” and declare it a green parish. Having a plastic free environment is good but, it is high time that we tuned our sensibilities to other issues like that of Greenhouse gas emissions and energy conservation. It is quite strange to realise that the electricity that we depend on, almost everything – including reading this post – is not clean energy. Most of it comes from burning coal or other fuel to turn the turbines, which in turn produce electricity [burning of even a wooden log emits CO2]. Even the Hydro power, that some of our states extensively use, is not that green, as the dams submerge hectares of green cover.



I am not competent enough to calculate the energy consumption (dumb ass)even though the formula is quite simple [watts x hours per day x days per year ÷ 1000]. I should infer from the length of the formula, that the consumption of a 16 bulb chandelier should be quite high, let alone those halogen lights that “illuminate” the buildings through the night. Yeah the church is rich enough to pay its bills, but there is more to it.

God asked Adam to be the protector of His creation. He gave Adam the right to use the resources but not to exterminate it. As a responsible institution, the churches of the world, should take up the lead in energy conservation programmes by making the first step in their own buildings. After all, cutting down on lights is far more easier than doing away with the air conditioning system and way inexpensive than setting up solar panels on the roofs of the church buildings... Well that can actually be the second step.


Percapita greenhouse gas emisions by countries in 2000
[image courtsey: Wikipedia]