St John’s Southall celebrated Eco Church’s 1st Birthday on Sunday 5th February with a service, Green Communion and the presentation of our Bronze Eco Church Award. Our songs, crafts, liturgy, prayers and sermon all focused on God’s beautiful world and our need to love it, care for it and see that as part of our discipleship and community life in action.
Green Communion 2017
Here is a collection of photos and comments from churches that held a Green Communion on 5th February 2017.
St Mary’s Long Ditton
This was the first time we had a Green Communion and the liturgy was very powerful. You will need to look very carefully (or magnify in) to see the glow lights on the altar that the children are placing. Note the glow necklace and glow lights on the Rector’s fingers!
Romsey Methodist Church
Green Communion service led by Rev. Gareth Hill. Photos taken by John Evans and Meghan Elkin – when she was not leading the singing!
All Saints Sanderstead
Everyone was asked to wear something green for our Green Communion service on 5th February. Our preacher was Bishop David Atkinson who spoke about God’s care for the planet. The Green Team at church prepared a display board with information about how we can improve our care for the planet.
Elstone Parish Church
EcoChurch first anniversary on 5th February 2017 at 11.00am in Elkstone Parish Church (Gloucester Diocese) with 16 people in the congregation (picture was taken by Mrs Chloe Darling). We used the A Rocha liturgy for Morning Prayer. During the Q&A session, someone commented: “We can’t fight natural cycles like ice ages which destroy civilisations” and the Revd Champion responded: “we still have a duty to be good stewards of creation”
St John’s Hartley Wintney
Last Sunday, 5th February, St John’s, Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, launched its participation in Eco Church. Both services that day celebrated the beauty of the world and committed the church to care for the earth using the Eco Church scheme. The 5th February was also the date the environmental charity, A Rocha UK’s hugely popular Eco Church award scheme celebrated its first birthday. St John’s was one of many churches across England and Wales holding a ‘Green Communion’ as part of their worship services on that day, using a green cloth over the altar, and a specially commissioned order of service, written by the Precentor of Canterbury Cathedral. Janette Smith, a curate at St John’s, said, ‘It’s great to be part of a church that tries to integrate what we believe into everything we do. We believe God created the earth and it still belongs to him. Our response must be to care for it, not to mess with it!’ St John’s is not new to environmental awareness. It already has the Silver Winchester Diocese Environmental Award in recognition for the ways it has included caring for the world in its worship, teaching and the way it runs its buildings. It …
St Mary’s East Grinstead
We hope that our efforts have converted what was a pretty sterile environment into an area where wildlife is beginning to find a home, and one that changes with the seasons. Many of our congregation are elderly and live in flats; we hope that by greening our churchyard we are, in a small way, bringing the countryside to them.
Market Harborough Methodist Church
Having taken part in a local Churches Together initiative in which Eco Church featured, Market Harborough Methodist Church made the decision to register.
St Stephen’s, Ealing
St Stephen’s Church in Ealing has long been passionate about caring for God’s world. Eco Church provided them with a very good assessment tool to see what they were doing already and to make good plans for progress on other things to be addressed in the future.