FEATURE
53
Preaching for the planet is vital if the church is to
reawaken to the biblical truth that caring for the earth
is a divine vocation and an essential expression of
Christian discipleship. However, it is one thing to hear
the word; it is quite another to act on it. When it comes
to practical responses to preaching for the planet, the
sheer scale of the environmental crisis that confronts us
can make it difficult to know where on earth to begin.
T
hankfully, help is at hand in the
form of Eco-Congregation – a
national award scheme designed
to motivate and resource
churches to incorporate the biblical
ethic of environmental stewardship
into their spiritual values, practical
action and community engagement.
More than 200 churches from across
the denominations have already
attained Eco-Congregation status.
Each has undertaken a wide variety
of practical initiatives and activities
relating to caring for God’s earth by
way of working towards their awards.
Here are snapshots of three of them…
church’s eco group, IDEA (Improving
Davyhulme’s Environmental
Awareness), that steered their progress
through the scheme.
The group were never short of project
ideas but, being small in number, they
had to acknowledge their limitations
and learn to work within their capacity.
Among the many projects and
initiatives the church has undertaken
are: the installation of bicycle stands
at the church to encourage fewer
car journeys; community litter
picks; an Eco Family Fun Day; the
implementation of energy-saving
measures in the Parish Hall; and a
collaboration with the Energy Saving
Trust on a project to conserve energy in
parish homes. They have also formed a
wonderful partnership with a local day
nursery by creating a ‘safe allotment’
on land at the back of the church
(pictured) where the children can plant
fruit and veg, tend to their growth and
then harvest the produce to enjoy back
at the nursery.
CHRIST CHURCH,
DAVYHULME
In suburban south-west Manchester,
Christ Church, Davyhulme decided
that the structure of the EcoCongregation Award was a
framework within which
they could happily work in
developing ‘eco awareness’
amongst both the church
and the wider community.
Less than nine years
later, the small Anglican
congregation has earned
three Eco-Congregation
Awards. ‘We are all now
much more eco-friendly, and
have become more aware
of our responsibilities of
caring for God’s creation,’ says
Sue Morford, coordinator of the
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