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 …

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 …

Llanpumsaint Church achieved a bronze award in March 2020, continuing on their Eco Church journey to achieve their silver award two years later in February 2022. They shared a few of their recent Eco Church activities with Delyth Higgins, our Eco Church Officer for Wales.    Eco-themed Open Church Event Our small rural church in a village with a population of about 800 people partnered with other churches in our Local Ministry Area, Plant Dewi, our diocesan children’s charity, our local allotment association and the local bus company (who provided free transport), to host an eco-themed open church event.  The event attracted over 60 people and focused on the Biblical creation story in Genesis and our call to be good stewards of God’s Earth as an expression of love for God and our neighbour. There was a Godly play session on the creation story, we made recycled bird feeders, planted wildflowers and vegetables, made and shared local, organic, animal-friendly and fair-trade (LOAF) cawl together, established our bug hotel, had a fair-trade stall, and a host of other activities and games. A great day, all in all!    Pop-up Cafe Llanpumsaint Church hosts a pop-up café every Tuesday from 11.30am – …

We include representatives of almost all the churches in the Hope Valley in the Peak District. We realised that many Christians were involved in the Hope Valley Climate Action group and wanted to create an opportunity to share ideas and inspirations amongst ourselves. At our first meeting we decided to commit to every church on the valley becoming an Ecochurch. In two years we have gone from one to four bronze awards and 9 out of 11 churches registered. We meet roughly every three months in each other’s churches to share ideas on worship, building and land management and lifestyle. As a visible part of Hope Valley Climate Action we have an opportunity to demonstrate God’s concern for His creation within a secular group with over 800 supporters. Working together gives us a louder voice when we declare His love for His creation. We hope this can be a helpful model for others to follow. Written by David Hughes

St Peter’s Church, Alton, achieved their silver award in September 2021. They shared the following story with us: We’ve had some very good engagement with the local cubs, who have taken on an Eco Project for the land in our graveyard. They have created display boards of their ideas to improve the churchyard for wildlife and the public use of the space. There were some common themes running through their ideas: – Planting more flowers and fruit in the churchyard to attract insects, birds, other animals, and people – Providing more homes for the bugs and mini-beasts that the fruit and flowers attract in – Providing homes for larger animals like hedgehogs – Having a pond for frogs, newts, toads, and all the other interesting pond wildlife See the photos below for how they developed their ideas and the final display boards they produced, which are now on display in the church.                      

St Margaret’s Church achieved their silver award in September 2022. Read more about their Eco Church journey here. “This will be the second year we have held a ‘Green’ Christmas Market. Last year it was hugely successful and raised a lot of interest, money and support from other organisations in our village. The principles of the event are: To bring Christmas joy to our community through the market To spread a green message into the heart of the Christmas season We manage this by all our stalls having an eco-ethos and being as plastic free as possible.” The main stalls are as follows: Homemade edibles – delicious cakes, jams, chutneys Natural decor – wreaths, poinsettias, potted bulbs,  and pinecones Re-gifting – anything nearly new or in good condition which would make a good present (no electrics or clothing) Handmade – crafts, knitting, willow weaving, woodwork, artwork Re-homing good quality toys (with kite mark) and children’s books This year we have invited OXFAM to have a free stall, and our local Citizens Advice Bureau will have a table and be available to talk through how to keep warm this winter with anyone who wishes to receive advice. We have a real …

All photos were taken in the autumn around the harvest festival by Becca Riley We had a wonderful harvest festival during October last year in our church. Our local farmer from the village kindly agreed to come to along church to address the congregation. We hosted a question-and-answer session with him during the service. He was able to describe and help those present to understand more about his farm – a mixed farm, growing crops and managing livestock. He talked about challenges faced by farmers, particularly the weather, and he shared things that help local farmers, for example, villagers being tolerant of tractors moving around the village. Non-perishable foods were gathered from our congregation and the wider community and donated to the local food bank. Thank you to Becca Riley, Eco Church Lead and member of church PCC at St Michael and All Angels Church, for writing this piece and providing photos. 

(Creationtide Display Board 1) Creationtide is celebrated at Christ Church West Wimbledon with an annual display of pictures and artefacts in the church. Members of the congregation contribute photographs, paintings and other artworks and objects they have found or made relating to Creation. These are displayed with Bible verses about Creation Care on boards hung around the church. The backgrounds on the display boards were painted by the Sunday morning children’s groups. Everyone is invited to contribute and a wide range of people join in. (Creationtide Display Board 1 Most years, we also have an art installation, inviting further contribution and commentary on environmental themes as we think about these during Creationtide. Last year we had a water-themed installation, and the congregation were invited to write a prayer and make an origami prayer boat in support of the Young Christian Climate Network ‘Rise To The Moment’ campaign and Relay to COP26. This year we have a Prayer Tree – everyone is invited to write a prayer on a paper leaf celebrating creation or about the environment, climate change, biodiversity, pollution or whatever is on their heart and then to hang the leaf on the tree. Prayer Boat Installation for ‘Rise …

In September 2021, the Shropshire and Marches Methodist Circuit held its first Care for Creation Day Away on a farm in the south of the circuit. As this was a first, we weren’t sure how many people would attend, so we were delighted to have 60+ from all over our large Circuit. We were blessed with good weather, meeting in the garden due to Covid restrictions at the time. The garden lent itself to three groups meeting in the different ‘rooms’. The three speakers moved from group to group, speaking on Forest Church, Eco Church and the farm’s sustainability plans. Forest Church is active in the northern part of the Circuit, and our speaker explained that it follows the Celtic Year. We looked at trees, seeds and hedges (each group choosing one of these) and contemplated and shared what we had found. We also received an introduction to Eco Church and were shown examples of the questionnaire. We explored questions like how to reduce our carbon footprint, where to make changes and how to encourage the congregation to get involved. Father and son Gwatkin (John and David) told us about the development of their farm from being tenants to owner-occupied, …

(IMAGE: Buff-tip and a Privet Hawk-moth as photographed by Emily Best) Churchyards and church spaces are some of the UK’s most unpolluted nature sites. From 4-12 June 2022, Churches Count on Nature (CCON) brought communities together to discover the wildlife in their local churchyard. Over 250 churches across England and Wales took part, counting many species, including rare and endangered ones, in their churchyards, spaces and burial grounds across England and Wales. Emily Best from St Michael’s Church Eco Team shared about their experience of welcoming hundreds of school children to their church grounds: During Churches Count on Nature week, the Eco Team ran biodiversity monitoring workshops for their local C of E school and village pre-school. These are located next door to St Michael’s church in the centre of Aldbourne, Wiltshire, and approximately 230 children participated. Each session began with a welcome from one of the clergy, who shared God’s creative nature and how He has loaned the natural world to us to enjoy and protect. We sang, “He’s got the whole world in his hands”, and thanked God in prayer for his beautiful world. Each group spent 1.5-2.5 hours with us being “wildlife detectives” using their senses and …