November Update

It is not too late to be part of this initiative. To make a gift, press HERE.

To make a larger gift (securely and with lower fees) please contact partnership@stjohnsegham.com so we can set up a bank transfer.

Heat Pump Update – the church is warming!

St John’s mentioned in the news report Wired.

We have made a huge step forward today!

While there is some integration work required by the manufacturer’s commissioning team, and tidying up tasks, We am pleased to report the church is gradually warming up, powered by green renewable energy!

It’s been quite a journey, and it’s actually a year since the old gas boiler packed up, but St John’s is now demonstrating that you can heat a 200 year old building with 21st century technology and stop harming the planet.

Thanks to those who encouraged this initiative, were faithful in prayer and financial support, as well as physically laboured to get this done.

We’ll be finalising things in the coming days, submitting paperwork to grant bodies and those whose permissions we needed to proceed, as well as learning how the system interacts with our situation.

But the end is in sight – and then we can think about our next step….

The Heat Pump has arrived!

After a bit of a lull following the completion of the trench (although a few folk have been working in between) today was the great day when the equipment all arrived.

The 3 heat pump units are on the pads in the external enclosure, and the buffer tanks plus a load of pumps, valves and pipes are all in the plant room, so we are ready for the real installation work to begin.

We have so much to be thankful for as we proceed further on this journey to reduce our carbon footprint, including some generous giving, on top of grant funding. We want to be faithful in our care for Gods creation, without burdening our church finances, and so far God has proved faithful in honouring our plan.

We should continue to pray for a smooth installation and commissioning period, and guidance on how we embark on our next steps to install solar panels.

JULY UPDATE

It’s great to report that following the hard work of a core group, supported by a range of individuals from the church family, the main effort we had to undertake of digging the trench for the heat pump is now complete, and the trench has been refilled and the driveway is open again.

The work was a little more complicated from our side by having to divert around a number of burials, and the heat pump company having to deal with a more rigid pipe than originally intended, but the pipe and cables are now positioned ready for delivery of the units themselves.

May Update

Heat Pump Project

A quick update on the heat pump installation project.

After prep work from a core group of hard workers last week, on Saturday 7th, a total of 22 people spent about 72 hours of toil digging the trench for the heat pump – the effort was truely amazing and a lot was achieved.

Unfortunately we encountered some challenges – our planned route was straight through some underground vaults – so we have had to divert the trench, not once but twice! We have also uncovered other graves which we need to work carefully around – we are being supervised by archaelogists who guide us catalogue what we uncover and ensure we handle everything properly.

The installers spent time on Wednesday to evaluate our progress and develop the precise plans for installing the duct, and due to the noise of the drilling work, we have decided to do this on Monday.

So there is no work this weekend, but we hope to lay the duct next week, cover things over and start making the area look a little more normal and then reopen the driveway.

Thanks for all the amazing effort of a wonderful group of volunteers – we couldn’t have got this far without your commitment!