CREATION MATTERS
Please click the document at the bottom of page for St Mary's information on Soft Recycling
Please click the document at the bottom of the page for St Mary's Terracycling
What’s new ?
Our PCC have committed to making a difference to the climate crisis and taking our role as ‘stewards of the earth’ much more seriously.
We are delighted to say that we have been awarded an Eco Church Bronze Award.
What is ‘Eco Church’ you might ask?
Eco Church is a project of A Rocha UK – a charity committed to mobilising Christians to care for nature.
Churches complete the unique online Eco Survey about how they are caring for God’s earth in different areas of their life and work. The answers a church provides will collect points towards an Eco Church Award – the more your church does, the more points you get!
The survey takes you through five key areas of church life:
· Worship and teaching
· Management of church buildings
· Management of church land
· Community and global engagement
· Lifestyle
You can find out more information here https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/
Our Progress so far:
We have already made a difference in several areas for example:
· Changing our energy suppliers to promote the use of ‘green energy’
· Eco-friendly toilet paper and paper towel for the toilets
· We've changed all our cleaning supplies to eco friendly ones
· Promotion of recycling items not able to be recycled in council rubbish collection and provision for collecting several of these items (porch bins). Information leaflets available online and in church
· Including the recycling of any food waste from food preparation into the green council bins
· Use of projector screen for services instead of printed services
· Community churchyard work parties to help maintain the churchyard
· Festival of Creation—to promote community and individual engagement in caring for creation
· Study course and sermon series on caring for creation
· Fabric Committee have undertaken a survey of all our lighting in the parish centre and church and are in the process of upgrading all our fittings and bulbs to be more efficient and eco-friendly.
· We have updated our registration with ‘Fairtrade Foundation’ and remain committed to serving Fairtrade Tea, Coffee and Sugar at any of our services and events. We are working towards using other Fairtrade products. We have committed to promoting Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight (annually) and through events, worship and other activities where possible.
· Potentially leaving some of the churchyard around the back of church (very old section adjacent to church) to grow wild to attract wild flowers, insect and bird life, which will be carefully managed.
· Though unable to plant more trees in the churchyard we have replaced the old standard roses with several new ones.
So where to from here?
Now it’s time to take action!
Have you begun to think about where you can make small changes and take those small steps to make a difference? We’d love to hear from you. We are hoping you will share your ideas so we can all learn from each other. Please send them in to our admin email address so that Jo can include them in our monthly newsletter to share.
Help and advice!
· REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, REFUSE – ‘Be content with what you have’ (Hebrews 13:5).
· READ THE LABELS – find out what you can recycle in your area by clicking on the Creation Matters Leaflet below
· PLASTIC DETOX – choose alternatives to single-use plastics.
· LOAF YOUR GROCERIES – buy Local, Organic, Animal-friendly and Fairly-traded.
· LEARN MORE HEALTHY RECIPES – good for your body, and the environment.
· MEAT-FREE MONDAYS – don’t want to go ‘full-veggie’- try one meal a week instead
On our Diocesan website there is a new section dedicated to the ‘environment’ - find out more through this link: https://www.oxford.anglican.org/mission-ministry/making-a-difference/environment/
· Please see link below to read some advice on how to reduce your carbon footprint?
https://www.oxford.anglican.org/10-ways-to-reduce-your-carbon-footprint/