Beyond Bronze
We’ve always been clear that Eco Church isn’t a box ticking exercise, a case of getting an award and then moving on to something else. It’s something we want to embed into our church life and continue to work on together.
But how did we get to this stage of our journey and where do we hope to go next?
In June 2019 Putnoe Heights Church Council voted to register with Eco Church, A Rocha UK’s award scheme for churches in England and Wales who want to demonstrate that the gospel is good news for God’s earth. It was seen as a positive project which would build on areas that were already seen as important to us as a church, social and community action at local level and beyond. We were also very aware that environmental issues were of increasing concern to people, especially younger generations. We saw an opportunity to bring a church voice into the conversation, alongside taking practical action to lead by example in our community.
The first step was to take the Eco Church survey. This is a detailed survey that covers the five areas of the Eco Church programme – Worship & Teaching, Buildings, Land, Community & Global Engagement and Lifestyle. We included as many people as possible at this stage so that the church members who knew about our building, our money, our land management, our catering and so on could help us answer honestly and find out more about the targets that might lie ahead. As a result of the initial survey we were delighted to find ourselves at Silver in Worship & Teaching and Buildings, and Bronze in Community & Global Engagement. This meant that we knew we had work to do in the Land and Lifestyle categories but it also gave us a boost as there were things we were already doing well.
We then looked to see what small changes we could make quite easily. We decided to set a target in each of the Eco Church categories, regardless of our score in the survey, so that we could keep working holistically. Early changes included switching to recycled paper in the church office and asking our team of intercessors to include environmental themed prayers where appropriate. We also added Eco Church on to our meeting agendas so that it would be considered in everything we do.
January 2020 saw the launch of the Eco Church newsletter which was created to help us communicate our Eco Church journey to church members. Amazingly, the newsletters have developed a wider readership and we know of regular readers in other parts of the country as well as in other churches in Bedford. We also set up an Eco Church noticeboard in the church entrance area.
When the Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions hit, the church closed and we wondered how and if we could keep the Eco Church momentum going. We introduced midweek Eco Church reflections which were posted on the website, on Facebook and distributed by email during the first of the lockdowns. The lockdowns also saw an increase in people engaging with their local green spaces, countryside and wildlife and so, inspired by 30 Days Wild from the Wildlife Trusts, we introduced a Connect to Creation project on our Instagram channel. We wanted Instagram to be a place where we could focus on our Eco Church journey and engage with people who might be interested in environmental issues but have little or no experience of church. The Connect to Creation project continues to share photographs of nature taken in the local area. The posts encourage people to appreciate the natural world by finding new ways to slow down and connect to God's creation.
In September 2020 we were delighted to be receive a Bronze award.
In 2021, we continued to set actions across the five Eco Church categories and held a Climate Sunday service in August. Climate Sunday services were held in the run up to COP26 in Glasgow and encouraged churches to explore the theological and scientific basis of creation care and action on climate, to pray, and to commit to action. As part of that service we committed as a congregation to working towards a Silver Eco Church award.
Recent successful projects include the setting up of an empty blister pack recycling point in church, with a second collection point at Miller Place, a local retirement development. As part of the Queen’s Canopy tree planting initiative for the 2022 Platinum Jubilee, we are planting and nurturing a mixed hedgerow at the back of the church car park.
Acknowledging the climate crisis, at the 2021 Methodist Conference an aspirational target of becoming a net zero emissions Church by 2030 was agreed. With this in mind we will be calculating the carbon footprint of the church and encouraging church members to calculate their own carbon footprints, so that we can work together on reducing our carbon emissions.
Finding more ways to explore the link between environmental action, the Bible and our faith is an important goal for the future. We are also committed to working with other churches to share our experiences and learn from others, this is happening through North Bedford Churches Together, the Circuit Social Action Mission stream and the District Eco Forum.
It’s been a great journey so far and we’re looking forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead.
