On Saturday 14 September, more than 50 people from across the diocese came together to hold ecumenical conversations about Eco Church.
The morning started with sung worship where those gathered celebrated the gift of creation, lamented its destruction and then committed to care for all that had been made by asking for God’s vision.
Polly Eaton, the Eco Diocese Officer at ARocha UK, inspired the group by demonstrating that the small changes we make can have a huge impact.
Whilst reminding us all of the environmental crises we face, she showed how the framework of the Eco Church Award enables every church community to make a difference - whether it meets twice a week with the buildings open throughout the week, or as a festival congregation; whether it has an active youth group or leads regular assemblies in the local school; whether its rural setting means that it is used regularly for weddings or is reaching out into an urban estate.
The group was inspired by the Canticle words, “Oh let the earth bless the Lord,” which has called us, as part of creation, to work in partnership with God in every way we can to enable the whole of creation to flourish - to think differently and with creativity.
They also heard from the ‘youth voice’, who shared research instigated by the Bishops’ Youth Council, in which young people from across the diocese, from schools and churches, offered their thoughts about the environment and faith.
The full results will be published over the next couple of months, but a stand-out challenge was the statistic that 72% of young people thought that God cared for creation but only 17% saw climate change as being an issue related to faith.
Workshops linked to each stage of the award also took place, including how to register and first steps with Jane Woolmer, achieving the next award with Andrew Quigley, our Diocesan Environmental Officer, and how to enable the Eco Church award to flow out into the local community with Polly Eaton.
Finally, there was the opportunity to talk about Eco Church with a wide range of contributors who are keen to partner with churches around the county.
These include the John Ray Initiative and Green Christian in Worship and Teaching; Jigsaw Infra-red heating panels and use of the Energy Footprint Tool (EFT) in Buildings; the Swift Project and Bats in Churches in Land; Friends of the Earth and the Just Fairtrade shop in Global and Local Engagement; and Leicestershire and Leicester City Recycling (with a Master Composter) and Carbon Literacy Course in Lifestyle.
There were many positive conversations and people left feeling encouraged, empowered and equipped. Comments included:
“Great ideas – we’ll be looking at composting and getting the wider community involved in the Eco Church initiative.”
“I feel empowered to go back to church and make the case for creation.”
“Far more beneficial than I thought it would be. I’ve learnt so much from coming here today. Speaking to like-minded people and networking has been invaluable. Encouraging to know I am not alone.”
“Encouraging that we are further along the road than we realised – doing more than expected.”
Along with delicious waste-free meals from Kings Coffee House and plenty of time to talk, the whole event was a great success.
Pioneer Anne Scott, who helped organise the day, said: “The Eco Church Conversations were inspirational and allowed churches to plan to take next steps. There was a wonderful revelation for many churches that they were doing more than they realised which was a huge motivation for looking to the future. We are really excited to see what the impact of this conference will be.”
If you would like to know more about how your church can move forward with your Eco Church journey, do get in touch with our Environmental Officer, Andrew Quigley - revdaquigley@gmail.com, Anne Scott from the Diocesan Environmental Group annescott@htl.church, or Adam Clarke our Net Zero Carbon Programme Manager - Adam.Clarke@LeicesterCofE.org.
*Please be aware that the Eco Church award will be changing in October 2024 with the new survey being released. There is a grace period on completing your award if you are already working towards a level, but it gives a motivation to get it completed by the new year. Find out more here.