Care for God’s creation is part of our everyday faith as Christians. We honour God when we care for His creation. We show love to our neighbours, near and far, when we care about the environments in which they live. And we work for justice when we seek to tackle climate change and halt the loss of nature.
An Eco Community is a worshipping community (parish, fresh expression of church or church plant, chaplaincy or school) which recognises and embodies caring for creation as intrinsic to the Gospel.
We do this through:
- Obedience to God’s command to care for God’s creation and enable it to flourish
- Worship to join with all creation in worshipping our Creator through our prayer, praise and practice
- Discipleship to follow the example of Christ by living in full relationship with God, each other and all of creation, with a commitment to actively learning together
- Mission to share the Good News of God’s concern and our agency to all creation
- Justice to recognise the global effect of the environmental crisis and to advocate for those most affected by climate breakdown
In practice this includes working towards the achievement of:
- the Church of England Net Carbon Zero commitment, and
- the Diocese of Leicester commitment to Eco-Diocese and Eco-Churches.
Read the Leicester Diocese Net Zero Action Plan (.pdf)
Read a fuller statement about Eco Communities (.pdf)
As a diocese, we are striving to reduce the environmental impact of our buildings and activities. This includes:
- Working towards carbon net zero emissions by 2030 and towards becoming an accredited Eco Diocese
- Disinvestment from fossil fuel companies and a commitment to not reinvest in them in the future
- Setting up a Diocesan Environment Group to encourage parish churches to consider how they can be good stewards of creation
- Reordering the cathedral to reduce its long-term environmental impact
Read the Diocesan Environment Policy (.docx), adopted by Diocesan Synod in December 2021.
In March 2024, Diocesan Synod adopted the following resolutions:
“This Synod:
1. Reaffirms its commitment to reduce carbon emissions, in support of the national church aim for net-zero by 2030, working within the scope definition agreed by the national church;
2. Welcomes the availability of national church funding to support that commitment;
3. Notes the draft Net Zero Carbon Action Plan and, recognising the many other challenges and commitments that we all face along with the constraints of available time, expertise, human capacity and finance, resolves to enact as much of the Plan as is possible;
4. Asks that progress reports are brought to the Synod on at least an annual basis.”
In March 2024 we were awarded Bronze Eco Diocese status, an award scheme run by A Rocha. We also continue to encourage churches in the Diocese to register as Eco Churches.
Read our Eco Communities news stories to see how worshipping communities are engaging with environmental justice and care for creation as part of their ministry and mission.
For more information about the Diocesan Environment Group or becoming an Eco Church, you can get in touch with Revd Andrew Quigley (revdaquigley@gmail.com).
Become a member of the Leicester Eco Diocese Facebook group to learn more and share ideas.
Resources
- Focussing on the environment in prayer worship and teaching (churchofengland.org)
- Looking after the land around churches to encourage biodiversity (churchofengland.org)
- Guidance for churches on becoming carbon net zero (churchofengland.org)
- A Rocha’s Eco Church resources which cover worship and teaching, building management, land management, community and global engagement, and lifestyle (arocha.org.uk)
- Our Diocese of Leicester Travel Toolkit for Local Churches (.pdf) and diocesan staff Workplace Travel Plan (.pdf)
In this video Ann Scott, a licensed pioneer in the diocese who leads a mission shaped community called “Greenlight”, shares a sermon preached for Holy Trinity church at the start of Creationtide. Grab a coffee, and listen to her answering the question: “why should we, as followers of Jesus, care for the world?”
We'd love to hear from you about environmental projects and activities in your community. Email us on communications@leicestercofe.org if you have news that might encourage or inspire others.