Earlier this month, as part of Creationtide, people from around the diocese came together at All Saints Church in Loughborough for the second annual Eco Church Conversations event.
After a video welcome from Bishop Saju, the group spent an hour journeying through lament where they brought their climate grief and frustrations to God; remembered that God is in control and reconciles all things; and recommitted to act to care for creation in partnership with the Creator.
Especially poignant was singing, “Azim ast name to Isa,” a Farsi song which enabled them to stand beside all those in Iran who have suffered drought for nearly two decades.
They were then inspired by members of the Eco teams from St Mary’s Church, Nanpantan - the second Gold Eco Church in the diocese - and St Andrew’s Church, Aylestone, who have the Silver Award.
Ideas included land management plans, switching to a green energy supplier, use of social media, welcoming swifts into boxes installed in the church tower, finding freebies from Woodland Trust and local conservation trusts.
The top tips from St Mary’s were:
- Slow and steady wins the race – don’t go hard and run out of energy, introduce small changes, gradually and continually.
- Add Eco Church as a standing item on your PCC Agenda - this ensures it’s considered regularly and is kept in mind when making other PCC decisions on fabrics etc…
- Start an Eco Committee at an easy and convenient time, e.g. straight after the Sunday morning service, and have a dedicated email address for those who want to be involved but can’t attend.
- Don’t do it alone, you need a team!
During the session, Diocesan Secretary, Jonathan Kerry, spoke about the initiatives from the Net Zero Carbon team within the diocese and celebrated the 67% return rate of churches that completed the Energy Footprint Tool this year.
There are demonstrator projects being created, energy audits being completed and opportunities for funding being explored.
It was good to hear about the ambitious goal for the Church of England to be Net Zero Carbon by 2030 – the general feeling was, just because it seems difficult that doesn’t mean that it’s not right for us to all be focusing on it.
Those present also had an opportunity to think through what is next for their own church communities, looking at the resources for the A Rocha UK Eco Church award, and talk with each other about their easy wins and challenges.
After receiving a pinecone to represent seeds having been released - seeds of prayer, words of comfort, and ideas for growth and new life – they finished with a blessing from Bishop Martyn.
It was an encouraging time, with feedback describing it as, “a great morning focusing on our eco possibilities and caring for all that has been created. We came away with lots of ideas - some easy ones, too.”
Thanks go to Kate, Will and Beth for the music, and to everyone at All Saints for their hospitality.
Anne Scott, organiser and Deputy Diocesan Environment Officer, said: “It was an inspirational morning. The lament allowed people to experience grief and bring their emotions and requests to our faithful God. They could then move forwards with a greater determination for action.”