The Church Bathroom

I have been in quite a few church bathrooms in my life. They have ranged from simple water closets to marbled rooms of luxury that put my last apartment to shame. However, most bathrooms function in the same way, and their primary footprint on the environment concerns water and paper usage.

First, let's look at the water usage from toilets and sinks. Last year there was a severe drought in the South. I doubt this year will be different. But the drought got so bad that at one point I heard about what seemed like an extreme measure to conserve water. At a college football game in Georgia, people were stationed in the bathroom who were responsible solely for judging when a flush was necessary! I remember a slogan from camp that likely came into play. Well, again this does seem extreme, but perhaps they were onto something. I suspect that this practice would be seen as too crude to implement in any way in churches. But I think our manners and daintiness often pose problems in the life of discipleship, and I tend to believe God would rather us be a little more messy if that led to more good.

During my time in seminary, my school opened a new addition and one of the main bathrooms contained "waterless" urinals. Soon after (or possibly even before) it became mandatory to use these in new buildings on campus. I thought they were great (once people learned how to clean and treat them), but likely way too expensive to implement in an average church. I did a quick check minutes ago and found that they are only about $100 more than typical urinals. Once you figure in the water savings, they are likely more economical (as most green products are).

Finally, washing and drying hands is at issue. Well, as much as I hate the "spring-loaded, pain in the ass, Alcatraz style faucets" (as Jerry Seinfeld calls them), I must confess they are probably the way to go when water conservation is key. Granted we would like to think people only turn the faucets on briefly, but we have all been there when people leave the water running for much longer than necessary. Sometimes you have to make good decisions for people by limiting their options. Likewise using small amounts of paper towels probably isn't that bad. But some people act like they are going to clean up the Exxon Valdez. I would say hand dryers are definitely the way to go. I have always been a fan. Even though they take longer, there's something about them I like - and my hands truly feel cleaner.

So we've solved it: waterless urinals, spring-loaded faucets, hand dryers, and guards to rule on flushing. If this isn't ministry, nothing is.