Waxing elegant

What to do with leftover stubs from altar candles?

While some churches have abandoned beeswax or other real wax candles, some parishes continue to use them in worship. They look and smell lovely; better than any battery or oil fueled substitute for my money. The only problem is what to do with the stubs, a challenge for busy churches which may use several candles each month. It seems wasteful to simply throw them out.

I noted with interest a recent post on Facebook which described how many altar guild members of Anglican parish churches up-cycle their stubs. Speaking with some parishioners here in Summerland the other day I was reminded that we do this very thing and has done so for some time. One woman, Judith, has been converting our stubs into peace candles, for years. It’s one of her ministries of which she writes:

When I discovered that there was a stash of altar candle stubs that had no plan, I agreed to try to use the wax to make new candles. To do it, I melted the existing candles (burnt part of wick removed) in an empty tin which was in a water bath in a saucepan. I removed the wicks and poured the wax into a candle mold prepared with a fresh wick. This takes two pours because wax shrinks a great deal as it cools.

Once the candle is fully set, it is placed in the freezer to further shrink it, then removed from the mold. Trim the wick, level the bottom end, and the candle is ready to use, as is, or for decoration.

I make pillar candles for decorative use in the church at festivals and smaller candles to gift as peace candles. Three six-inch stubs make one peace candle.  Since I have only one mould, that means making one candle a day.

We gift them to newcomers or persons facing particular circumstances or challenges.

It seems that Judith is not alone in up-scaling stubs for various uses. Here is a selection of comments from the Facebook post previously mentioned:

All Saints Parish Church Kettering recycle their used candles at candle making workshops! That’s one of the reasons why we are an ECO Gold Award Church. You wouldn’t believe half the things we collect and re-use even down to the strings attached to gift tags!!! Maybe we could make a list of what can be re-used in churches.

Our Church Warden does this at St. John’s Sandylands. She makes lovely candles in glass holders. They’re free to take and very popular with visitors.

I used to melt down candle stubs into glasses which a local bistro put on their tables at night. A community project it was free of charge for them but it did mean that if I was there on a Sunday night – as the candles had been blessed – cocktails counted as Evensong…. 😉

We and our congregation send our used candles to be melted down and used in Ukraine . . . PLEASE Contact your local Ukrainian Hubs. Candle wax is desperately needed in Ukraine to keep people warm . They are melted down for Trench candles in old food tins with cardboard wick to keep people warm in minus 20 degrees ..no electricity or heat in many cities. Thirnbury is sending off 4 x boxes this week. Save your old candles and send them off quickly.

A church I used to attend made nearly all the candles ourselves out of leftover ones. That was well over 10 years ago. We didn’t necessarily do it for the environment but because it reduced waste generally and was cheaper than always buying new. It’s what started me on my hobby of making and decorating candles.

For some years now, I’ve been collecting leftover candle wax, which I make into jar-candles to hand out in the community at Candlemas as a universal demonstration of light and hope. Similarly, I ‘resurrect’ our Paschal candle each year, aided by previous years’ Paschals, candle ends, and processional candles.

People from my church made candles from the altar candles and gave them to wedding couples 45 years ago

My dad did this over 30 years ago. His candles filled the church with smoke for the Christmas Candlelight Service.

We melt down candles to make trench candles for Ukraine and have already made and shipped over 2500. If anyone has wax that they are looking to upcycle please do contact us. We are based in London under the charity number of our church, the Parish of Putney. www.thescrubbery.org.

There are companies that have been collecting candles and recycling — The Recycled Candle Company and @recycledwax

We are hoping this will be a fundraising idea for our fair this spring.

Does anybody know if anyone in Australia does this?

We collect and arrange for candles to be recycled from St Michael & All Angels, Lawton Moor.

I recycled the Advent candles last year, sold them and made £100 for church funds.

I collect through Churches Together in Hitchin and send a car load every so often. They are taken to the SHAP project in Swindon that makes them into Trench candles.

What an amazing collection of initiatives. Well done folks. And thank you, Judith.

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