On 26 January Eco Church became five years old. Covid has prevented a face to face ‘birthday party’, but on 26 March we will be holding an online event to celebrate the extraordinary development of the programme, to thank all who have contributed, and to pray together. And we have so much to thank God and you for. Five years ago, when Eco Church was launched, we set a target to reach 10% of churches (or about 4,500) across England and Wales in 10 years. The idea, based on research, was that 10% would be a ‘tipping point’ after which churches practically caring for creation would seem increasingly normal and gain its own momentum – without A Rocha UK having to drive it. So, how are we doing and what are our plans for the next five years? We’re well over half way there: a total of 3,100 churches have registered for Eco Church, over 1,000 awards have been achieved, and Eco Church has become a national community learning together and stretching across all sizes and styles of church. It has also gained the strong support of many denominations as a key tool for them to achieve their own increasingly …

A Rocha UK is pleased to announce that Hereford Cathedral is the recipient of its Eco
Church scheme’s 1,000th award for creation care.

Please join us for our forthcoming online Eco Church conference on 10 October hosted by St Albans. Register here.

Could your church host a Climate Sunday anytime between September 6 2020 and September 4 2021?

Join with other churches to celebrate Creation Time and hold a Green Communion in September. Download your free resources here.

A Rocha UK are encouraged to see that many Eco Churches have been as busy as bees during the lockdown period. One story in particular from Westfield and Cannington United Reformed Churches, two Silver awarded Eco Churches, had us buzzing with excitement…

Please save the date for Eco Church autumn conferences being held in St Albans on 10 October and Manchester on 21 November at North Trinity High School. Chelmsford on June 12 will now go ahead online. Booking details to follow.

Eco Church – working together to net zero.

A Rocha UK are delighted to announce that the Winchester, Eastleigh & Romsey circuit has achieved a Bronze Award as an Eco Circuit. This is the first such award in the country and is the result of many working together to make this possible. Sue Keegan von Allmen, superintendent minister of the Winchester, Eastleigh and Romsey circuit writes, “I was delighted when members of Romsey Methodist Church proposed that we should become an Eco-Circuit. We agreed to do so in December 2018. Since then we’ve been developing policies and sharing the process with individual churches. The circuit staff and local preachers have had training sessions, the staff spent a quiet day reflecting on climate change, and the number of services in which eco-issues are explored has increased. In Winchester and Romsey there are regular ecumenical events. And one of our smaller churches is seeking to become an eco-church. One of the things we’ve changed, is that we’ve agreed to hold meetings in churches closest to the centre of the circuit, to reduce travelling and to share cars. Covid-19 is having an unexpected impact on that. We’re having meetings using video-conferencing, so it’s reducing our carbon-footprint, and I hope that might …

A small village church in the rural parish of St Helens has become the first church on the Isle of Wight to receive their Eco Church Gold award and only the tenth church in the whole country – across all denominations – to have achieved this award, out of 2300 registered churches. Although a small rural parish with seemingly limited resources, the St Helens congregation has demonstrated passion and commitment in response to the climate emergency, under the leadership of Revd Ali Morley. A Rocha UK’s Speakers Coordinator, Simon Brown who visited and assessed St Helen’s efforts earlier this month wrote, “I found the church in an idyllic setting with an enthusiastic, friendly team only too happy to engage with the environmental issues of the day, and to come up with some innovative ways of addressing them within the life of the church. [St Helen’s is] a wonderful source of challenge and encouragement to others.‘  Some inspiring activities from the Gold awarded church include: Surveying the flora and fauna of the churchyard over the year led to plans for the construction of a pond, for tree planting (with help from a free pack from the Woodland Trust) and the protection …