“The Lord God place man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.”
(Genesis 2:15 New Living Translation)
Eco Church is A Rocha UK’s award scheme for churches in England and Wales. We have taken our first steps in identifying how we care for God’s earth.
We have undertaken an online survey to find out how we score against five areas of church life:
· Worship and teaching
· Management of Church buildings
· Management of Church Land
· Community and global engagement
· Lifestyle
Our current score:
Since Spring 2018 a small working party are now assessing our Garden of Eden and how we can improve our care for God’s world here in Woodley. We will be working for global and local changes to protect the environment and encouraging all church users to alter their lifestyles to better care for the world around them both locally and globally. Initially we will be looking into the areas of worship and teaching, land and lifestyle towards achieving a Bronze Eco Church Award.
New members are welcome to join us, as we continue to work towards our Bronze Eco Award. Please email us here.
For more information see our Eco Church Facebook page .
Eco News:
Eco Church Noticeboard
Update on what we’re doing at church to improve things for wildlife.
The nest box that we put up in the Spring was occupied by Great Tits who liked it enough to build a nest. We don’t know whether the nest was ever used to raise young, but it’s good news that they have used it so quickly. We will be putting up two more nest
boxes over the winter – another one for Great Tits on a tree and a House Sparrow ‘terrace’ on the side of the church.
We have started preparing the ground for a mini wild flower meadow between the side of the church and Kingfisher Drive. This will be seeded over the winter and we will wait to see what comes up next year. This will provide pollen for bees, butterflies and hoverflies.
We are planning to plant some native trees (probably Rowan) on the bare areas of ground either side of the car park entrance and having a think about what we can do on the ground below the trees.
If you want to find out more about what the church is doing to reduce its physical impact on God’s creation, have a look at the Eco Church noticeboard in the lounge.
Thank you for all your support and positive comments at our Eco Church Display that accompanied the Eco Church Services in September.
One area we might choose to live more lightly might be about our clothing.
What your clothing is made of? And does it matter?
How your clothing is produced? How is it made?
Has fashion become disposable?
How many times do you wear your clothes before you discard them?
What do you do with your discarded clothes? Do your clothes end up in landfill or do you send your clothes for reuse by others or for regeneration?
Do you buy clothes second hand?
Should our fashion be at the expense of people, animals and our planet?
The fashion industry is the second biggest polluter in the world (Ethical Consumer 2019). If we are to care for our world, we need to consider our clothing and our choices in relation to clothing and its impact on our world.
If the clothing industry continues growing, polluting and using fossil fuels it is argued that by 2050 it could account for 25% of the global carbon budget. If we extend the length of wear on our clothes, then this is just one way we can reduce the carbon impact on our planet.
In September Oxfam asked consumers to “say no to new clothes for 30 days” you could join them here!
There are many ways you can help your planet through considering your clothes purchasing.
Share your ideas with the group – email us just click here! Remember to look at the St James Eco Church page on Facebook.
Local Environmental Events:
Wednesday 13th November 7-9pm “Christians Together on Climate”. How can we make a difference? Refreshments and Stalls open from 6.30pm St Laurence’s Church, Friar Street, RG1 1DA
