Clitheroe United Reformed Church is the first church in the North Western Synod to achieve a Gold Eco Church Award! As part of the NW Synod podcast, Lawrence Heath-Moore sits down with Wendy Higson and Izzy Lamb from Clitheroe United Reformed Church to share about their Gold Award. Discover the ways in which their Eco Church journey has transformed not only their buildings but the lives and spirituality of the congregation and brought a new dimension to their relationships within the community. Be inspired to find ways of making small, incremental changes that have long-term significance by listening to the podcast episode here (you’ll need to scroll down to find the correct episode).
Welcome to our new Eco Diocese Officer
Polly, who is passionate about bees, involved in a ‘stop using harmful pesticides’ campaign as part of her local Justice and Peace Group. We are delighted to welcome a new member to the A Rocha UK churches team in the newly created role of Eco Diocese Officer. Whilst Polly has recently started in her role, she is not totally new to Eco Church: “Since moving to Hertfordshire seven years ago, I’ve been worshipping at High Street Baptist Church in Tring. During this time the church gained a gold Eco Church award and I’ve enjoyed being part of a church that strives to ‘do’ creation care. Prior to this I lived in West Africa and saw first-hand the effects of the climate crisis on rural communities. I strongly believe that the environmental catastrophe we face is a justice issue and the church has a vital role to play. I think one of the ways to approach this challenge is to build our Eco Church community and encourage and learn from one another. I’m really looking forward to getting to know people within the diocese and supporting them as they progress with Eco Diocese.” We are grateful to the Church of England for …
First Gold Eco Church Award for Wales Achieved!
The Labyrinth contemplation area. St Peter’s Church in Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd, near Ruthin and part of the St. Asaph Diocese, has become the first church in Wales to achieve their Gold Eco-Church Award. As part of their work towards a gold award, they have developed the churchyard into a welcoming green space to support wildlife and biodiversity. They encourage native wildlife by providing bird boxes, a bug hotel, sowing wildflower seeds, and a labyrinth area with a seat and space for quiet contemplation. The church is a very popular spot for the start and end of walks in the area, and visitors can get a Fairtrade coffee inside. The ‘Capel Beuno’ area is popular amongst the youngsters of the church and wider community, where they meet regularly around the fire pit, sitting on seats recycled from wood pallets. Fallen trees have been crafted into two altar tables used for outside services. One of the Vicars at St Peter’s, Father Huw Bryant, shared, “We are delighted to have achieved this award and become the first in Wales. We have been working for several years towards this award, not for its own sake, but to embed good care for creation and …
Creation care prayers for Great Big Green Week from High Street Baptist Church, Tring
Thanks to High Street Baptist Church, Tring who are a gold awarded Eco Church, for sharing their prayers over Great Big Green Week.
Churches Counted on Nature
Churchyards provide thousands of acres of green oases in communities across the country. Last month’s Churches Count on Nature (CCoN), in which A Rocha UK was a key partner, was a fantastic opportunity to help people understand their local environment and explore the contribution that churches can make to monitoring and conserving wildlife. Between 3 and 11 June, over 400 CCoN events took place across England and Wales, with churches hosting activities to record the mammals, birds, wildflowers, insects, and fungi in their outdoor spaces. Many also used CCoN as an opportunity to reach out to their community and extended their activities to include photography competitions, history talks and picnics. You can see some great photos of a variety of events here. Llanidan Church in Brynsiencyn on Anglesey started their event with a service that focused on the environment and caring for their churchyard. After an opportunity to browse a selection of relevant books and leaflets over a cuppa, they got counting! Over 30 people took part, and the lists were compiled not only in Welsh and English but French too, as there was a Breton gentleman taking part! Almost 80 species of wildflowers were identified, as well as insects …
Montgomery Church’s Eco Group find a creative way to think about food miles at their monthly ‘bring and share’ lunch
St Nicholas Church in Montgomery, Wales, who achieved their bronze award in 2022, thought of a creative way to share their Eco Church ethos at their ‘bring and share’ lunch. Montgomery Church hosts a casual ‘bring and share’ lunch on the fourth Sunday of each month. It’s open to everyone and is normally well-attended. The Eco Church group saw this captive audience as a great opportunity to widen the message about eco issues. They decided to challenge the congregation to think about ‘food miles’, encouraging them to make low food-mile items to share. ‘Food miles’ refers to how far the ingredients of a meal have travelled to get to your plate. So it’s about making the best of what’s around locally whenever possible, rather than using items flown from across the globe. One of the young members created a beautiful poster, and the competition to bring along the dish with the lowest food miles was on! There were savoury recipes using homegrown herbs, local eggs and local vegetables. The puddings didn’t fair quite as well as the sugar, made with British sugar beet, all grown close to the factory, came all the way from Bury St. Edmunds. But, the only …
“God in the beauty of Nature” from the Bryn a Mor Mission Area, St Asaph Diocese
Image: Llanasa churchyard. Photo credit Gregor Lachlann Waddel. “…So I will build my altar in the fields. And the blue sky my fretted dome shall be, And sweet fragrance that the wildflowers yields Shall be the incense I will yield to thee…” (To Nature, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, c 1820) Part of the Bryn a Mor Mission Area is set in an area of outstanding natural beauty. Therefore, in amongst all this beauty, it is important that we as a church continue to conserve, preserve and look after God’s creation. Conservation has always been at the forefront of many of our churches. Some of our Church family has strong links and membership with the local conservation society in and around Llanasa. Together we take care of the plants and wildlife around our village and in our churchyards. We spend time in the churchyard and the village weeding and planting bee-friendly plants, cleaning and picking up litter. Under the stewardship of the Llanasa Conservation society, we have worked with the probation service in the care and upkeep of the cemetery, which has involved a programme of encouraging natural wildlife, semi-wild fauna, and flora. This special relationship is ongoing, and we hope …
Avenue St Andrew’s United Reformed Church share their history of caring for creation over many years, before achieving their bronze award in January 2023
Image: Members of Avenue St Andrew’s URC at a climate march in November 2021. Photo credit Bernie Collins. Avenue St Andrew’s United Reformed Church in Southampton achieved a Bronze Eco Church Award in January 2023. Their church has a history of caring for creation, achieving their first Eco-Congregation award (the scheme that pre-dates Eco Church. Eco Church began in England and Wales in 2016) in 2011! They shared some of their journey with us below: We have had an active concern about climate change for many years, encouraged by a few keen and knowledgeable individuals. There have been some particular milestones along the way: in 2011 we became an Eco Congregation; in 2019 we installed solar panels in 2020/21 we ran the Dorset Green Living Course online during lockdown, where we had time to study in-depth and grow in our understanding. From this, we formed a Green Living Group, which has provided the impetus for our Eco Church journey. Some of our recent journey: In the United Reformed Church, decision-making power rests in the Church Meeting. In 2021 our Church Meeting adopted a Climate Emergency Declaration and action plan, as part of which we have a large banner …
Act for Nature Dates in 2023
A Rocha UK are hosting several ‘Act for Nature’ days on our reserves and in collaboration with Partners in Action and Eco Churches. Join us for practical conservation activities for individuals and churches which are relevant to both small and larger patches of land. Come along to learn and share your own experiences of campaigning for nature – and to ‘speak up’ together though a simple action. And each event will be a great opportunity to meet and share a fun day with other A Rocha UK supporters in the region, as well as A Rocha UK staff and volunteers. The remaining events for this year include: – Wolf Fields, West London on Saturday 16 September. Find out more and register to attend here. – Nettle Hill, Warwickshire on Saturday 14 October. Find out more and register to attend here.
Registration open for Churches Count on Nature – June 3 to 11, 2023
Churches across all denominations in England and Wales can now register to participate in Churches Count on Nature, an annual scheme where people visit churchyards and record the plant and animal species they encounter. Read the full article and find out how to register your event on our A Rocha UK noticeboard here.