A group of us have been meeting to explore how we may become an Eco Church at All Saints and Holy Saviour. We understand that this is a serious issue and that we all have to respond to this crisis if we are going to pass on our planet in a habitable condition to future generations. We are using the survey and resources which have been produced by the Christian charity A Rocha and which have been designed to equip churches to express care for God’s creation in our worship and teaching; in how we look after our buildings and land; in how we engage with our local communities and in global campaigns and in our own personal lifestyles. The actions we take will count towards a prestigious award from A Rocha at bronze, silver and gold levels. The vision is for all churches to care for creation as an integral part of loving our neighbours and following God faithfully. At our recent meeting we were pleased to welcome two members of the Westbury Leigh Community Hall committee, so we are already engaging with the local community.
A work in progress
As a result of our early conversations, we have now changed from using disposable cups after our Sunday morning services and we have been donated a supply of china mugs. If you would like to bring your own to church and take it away afterwards to wash up, that all helps! We have also introduced some recycling facilities for plastic and for blister packs for pills. More recycling facilities are available at Morrisons in town. We are currently considering a wildlife area in our churchyard at All Saints (there is already one in Westbury Leigh). We have been very encouraged to find that we are already complying in a number of areas, but there are some challenges, including heating in our church buildings.
Next meeting
If anyone else would like to join us you would be very welcome. Our next meeting is planned for Monday 27 June at 7.00 pm in the Rectory garden (weather permitting). Please be in touch with me if you’d like to know more. You can also have a look at the website: https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/
Rebecca Harris