Eco Church

Our Eco Church timeline

•      Mar 2020, following District recommendation, our Church Council voted to register for Eco Church

•      First pass answering the Eco Church survey questions but updating of “need to find out” answers delayed due to pandemic

•      Jan 2021, Eco Group of 6 church members formed to complete the survey and promote eco matters within the church

•      Mar 2021 Received an Energy Efficiency report (Building) from SevernWye Energy Agency

•      Jul 2021, applied for Silver award

·       Aug 2021 received our Silver award

·       May 2022 started a new survey with a view to achieving Gold

Our Eco Group Organisation

• The group meets on an ad-hoc basis, usually by zoom

• The group reports to Church Council

• The group submits ideas to both the Property and Finance Committee and Ministry and Mission Committee

• Each member of the group brings skills in particular areas

Some of Our Eco Church steps

Within each of the 5 Eco Church areas:

•      Worship and Teaching

Although Eco subjects are often included in services, we have four Sundays a year that are specifically Eco themed; January – Climate Sunday, April – Earth Day, August – Creation Day, October - Harvest

•      Buildings

We are contracted with a green energy supplier and have switched all lighting to LED

•      Land

We only have a small outside space but have a wildflower area and have plans to add a small wildlife pond

•      Community and Global Engagement

We produce Eco themed articles that promote earth’s stewardship to the congregation and wider community. We encourage church users to minimize energy use and environmental impact

•      Lifestyle

We are a Fairtrade church and have twinned all out toilets. Our church rooms are used by a variety of outside groups

The choices of what to do to help our environment can often seem overwhelming, so we encourage individuals to take a few steps to change their habits and behaviours, every step counts, no matter how small.