As Christians we need to “Act locally and think globally”. We see the impact of taking God’s creation for granted both locally, in the amount of waste we generate, and globally in the impact that climate change has on the poorest people in the world.

We began our Eco Church journey in 2019, when we created a Caring for Creation (C4C) Group which supports the clergy in eco matters and reports to the PCC. After including creation in our worship and teaching we were delighted to have then received the A Rocha Bronze Award in 2022. A Rocha operates an Eco Church awards scheme for churches in England and Wales who want to demonstrate that the gospel is good news for God’s earth.

In 2022, having received our Bronze award we completed an energy audit for both St George’s and St Giles’ as part of our ‘net zero’ journey. This advised us that solar panels would be beneficial, and after presenting a net zero carbon paper to the Parish Council we received approval for panels at St George’s, which were installed in November 2023.

The C4C team have continued to work hard to improve both our actions and our awareness of Caring for God’s Creation and are delighted to announce that in February 2025 we have been awarded the A Rocha Silver Award. This award is based on a survey widely recognised by many church organisations including the Church of England. The survey covers five areas: worship and teaching, buildings, land, personal lifestyle and community and global engagement. The two areas we have been particularly focused on over the last 3 years have been personal lifestyle which looks at how as a church we are encouraging our members to live more sustainably, and global and community engagement, which is how we work with our community and policy makers to prioritise Caring for Creation.

Our journey to net zero carbon continues as we explore more ways to deepen our engagement with caring for creation and embedding it in our church life, bringing positive change in our churches, our community and our planet.

Contact us for further information.