ECO Church is a scheme run by A Rocha UK equipping churches to care for God's creation through their worship, buildings, land, community engagement, and individual lifestyles
Why is it important?
One of the five marks of mission of the Anglican Church links to the theme of Eco Church and stewardship. It says
- to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
It is our responsibility as part of our discipleship to ensure that this becomes part of our everyday life as we seek to emulate Christ and his teachings. This means that the Christian church worldwide has a responsibility to ensure that we are playing our part in helping to safeguard creation. This can only happen if local churches take this on board and make this part of their mission.
What is St Mary's doing?
At St Mary's we have begun the process of working towards the bronze Eco Church award. We are mindful, that though awards are great to achieve, it is not just about awards but the ability to improve our understanding within our church community of the importance of this area of mission. Currently we have set up a group that are working through the surveys for each of the five areas. Once this has been completed we will develop an action plan of the steps St Mary's needs to take going forwards. Once completed this will be added to the website. We are also developing a Policy Document that will outline what we believe as a church community.
If you are interested in this area of mission we would love to hear from you. Please speak to Andrew, our Curate, in church or contact the Church office.
Who are A Rocha?
A Rocha are a Christian charity working to protect and restore the natural world, and who help equip Christians and churches in the UK to care for the environment.
What is ECO Church?
ECO Church is a framework, provided by A Rocha UK, to support churches and their leaderships to take action on caring for God's earth. It does this through the ECO Church survey.
The survey focuses on 5 main topics:
- Worship and teaching
- Buildings and energy
- Land and nature
- Community and global engagement
- Lifestyle
By completing the survey, churches will be rewarded a Bronze, Silver, or Gold ECO Church award.
What action can I take?
The prospect of climate change and climate action can be overwhelming, but there are many things each of us can do to make our lifestyles more sustainable and contribute to climate action.
Lifestyle
Making small changes in the way we live our lives can help reduce climate change. Check out these articles on tips for living more sustainably.
Actions for a healthy planet, UN
Ideas for taking climate action at home, Oxfam
Petitions
Petitions are a great, easy way to support green movements and encourage real change.
Community
Risborough Environmental Group (REG)
This group run:
- A WhatsApp group for questions and support for all nature related questions.
- The Risborough Wombles a monthly litter pick.
- Chalk Stream sewage monitoring of our World Heritage Chalk Streams.
- Earl Mitchell Playing Field Meadow project in conjunction with the Town Council.
Climate Action Now, Risborough (CANR)
This Group runs educational events about climate change and the steps people can take to make a difference in their own lives. E.g. Climate Cafes and Talks at local groups.
The Repair Barn
A place where you can get things repaired at a low cost to prevent unnecessary waste. Based at Culverton Farm.
Maker, Fixer
A monthly drop in run by St Mary's, encouraging people to make and fix things for themselves - a skill sharing and prayerful space.
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