His planned departure next May will bring to a close an eventful 12-year chapter in the history of the church, in which he has overseen the installation of a geothermal heating and air-conditioning system, but has clashed with his more conservative congregants at times over his outspoken sermons on political and social justice issues.
Tunkle, a former Jew born in the South Bronx, N.Y., said he and his wife, Judy, are moving to Dresden, Maine, near Augusta. That will bring them back to the state where they lived for the first nine years of their marriage, where Tunkle was baptized, where their three children were raised, where he graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in Business Administration and Accounting, and where the Episcopal Diocese of Maine sponsored him for seminary, starting a three-decade career as a rector, he said.
There, they plan to build a house fully powered by solar energy, on 38 acres of undeveloped woodland, he said, adding that they look forward to “living in a way that is congruent with our values.”
[blockquote] Tunkle championed a $2.5 million, high-efficiency geothermal system at the church that was installed last year. At the time, he called the project “a [b]bold theological step [/b]to protect this fragile earth.”[/blockquote]
Solar panels in Maine will doubtless require enough prayer to canonize him should they work.
I wish him sincere good luck with his project/experiment. At least he seems to be an individual who is willing to live out what he proposes, unlike a large number of “visionaries.” One has to give him credit for such consistency.
Pax et bonum,
Keith Töpfer
“He announced his planned retirement to congregants at the church Sunday, May 26, but told them, ‘Let’s not make it a year-long funeral.'” Not clear from the article why Mr Tunkle felt that that comment was necessary.
paradoxymoron, you wrote: “Solar panels… should they work.”
Meaning what? They won’t work? Because the sun doesn’t shine in Maine, maybe?
It shines here just about as much as in Baltimore, paradoxymoron! I’ve got the Research to prove it:
http://www.currentresults.com/Weather/US/average-annual-sunshine-by-city.php
http://www.currentresults.com/Weather/US/average-annual-state-sunshine.php
Percentage of sunshine (e.g., annual average of daylight hours when the sun is actually shining):
Portland, ME (not far from Dresden)
57% — clear days per year 101
Baltimore, MD
57% — clear days 105
Pax,
Chuck Bradshaw
Hulls Cove, Maine
Don’t you guys have 365 days in your calendar up there?
according to your numbers, 71% of the time it will be overcast, while on days that there is sun, it will only be shining 57% of the time. Meaning. . . less than 1 in five days will there be any power generation to speak of. . . while of course at higher latitudes daylight hours are fewer, and the angle of the sun is lower, further decreasing efficiency on days in which it is expected to work. So this person feels compelled by “bold theology” to install a vanity heating system, which won’t work at least 80% of the time, which of course will require a redundant heating system, while crowing about his eco-friendliness. Seems perfect for an Episcopal priest.