National City Christian Church on Thomas Circle
National City Christian Church is a historic icon in the Washington D.C. area. The current structure with its unique symmetry, arches and stained glass was designed by the same architect that created the Jefferson Memorial and the National Archives (John Russell Pope). It is a place where United States presidents, James Garfield and Lyndon B. Johnson, worshiped.
Although the building and its properties reflect the grandeur of the past, the National City Christian Church property needed repairs. National City Christian Church Foundation, which is an organization that holds in trust, preserves and maintains the physical facilities of the church, discovered the importance of going green. In addition to the renovations made through capital campaigns, National City Christian Church Foundation took out a Green Loan with Disciples Church Extension Fund (DCEF), which offers eco-friendly loans to Disciples ministries that are interested in creating projects that have a positive impact on the environment. National City Christian Church Foundation received the loan to replace more than 800 fluorescent light fixtures with energy-efficient LED fixtures in National City’s facilities. With this simple change of light fixtures, it is estimated that National City’s annual energy savings will reach approximately USD $26,000.
“We are pleased that the DCEF Green Loan contributed to National City Christian Church Foundation experiencing such a tremendous energy savings,” said Bill Singer, vice president of DCEF. “This is a notable example of the tremendous impact that Green Loans have on promoting an eco-friendly environment,” he said.
DCEF supports congregations in building and maintaining environmentally friendly places of worship. We provide green loans of up to USD $150,000 to churches that want to:
- Upgrade heating/air conditioning systems
- Replace or repair inefficient windows
- Insulate, rewire or weatherproof a facility
- Improve operations that contribute to a more energy-efficient building