St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, located adjacent to West Seattle High School, will be joining the ranks of other local, recently installed solar projects, such as South Seattle College and Highline High School, with an installation to go live later this year. Once complete, the solar panels will provide a 100 percent offset of the church’s annual energy consumption while also delivering to Seattle City Light greater renewable energy to meet the rising demand for power, especially during peak usage. The solar panels are one of several infrastructure upgrade projects to be funded by St. John the Baptist’s capital campaign – ‘Building Our Legacy of Hope’ – that kicked off earlier this year.
“Installing solar panels, particularly given how much sun our south-facing roof receives, made so much sense and is consistent with our pledge to reduce our carbon footprint and be a responsible neighbor,” said The Rev. Elise Johnstone, rector of St. John’s. “And improvements to our building mean we can continue to be a welcoming place for worship and community gatherings, contributing to this vibrant West Seattle community.”
The ‘Building Our Legacy of Hope’ capital campaign, chaired by West Seattle resident and St. John’s member Jeana Frazier, was launched this month with the goal of raising $800,000. The campaign will conclude in early June.
The Rev. Johnstone continues, “As a church that welcomes all people, regardless of where they are on their faith journey, St. John’s has experienced growth since 2021. There is energy in this community not just to take care of the practical needs, like repairing the roof and other parts of our building, but also to extend our space to more in West Seattle who are seeking a place to gather.”
Currently, the church provides space for The Endolyne Children’s Choir, the West Seattle High School Friday Football dinners, Alcoholics Anonymous, and will become the temporary space for the Admiral United Church of Christ as they redevelop their property on California Avenue.
