Nearly
13 years ago we organised and hosted a Climate Change Conference which directly
led to the formation of Sustainable Bungay. Three years later and we had
installed 220 solar panels on two of our hall roofs. During 2010/11, we began
to look at ways of improving the carbon footprint of our buildings and ended up
transforming our old Victorian school rooms into the greenest community
building for miles around. I could write a book on that part of our journey
alone but to suffice for now, to say that was our first two phases of our Going
Green Project.
Our
main aim was to take practical steps to help slow down the destruction of God’s
creation but we soon realised that this encompassed other aims. We took every
opportunity to share the things that we were doing by talking to individuals
and groups and by entering for different awards. Not to pat ourselves on the
back, but to clearly show others that Church, indeed God, is still relevant in
today’s world by leading on a major current issue. We were using our Going
Green Project as a way of bringing God into the conversation.
On
a practical note, the more we achieved with the buildings, the more rentals we
achieved helping us to offset our reducing offerings.
Every
Church within our Eastern Synod will be at a different point of their Eco
journey and it would be very easy for us to overwhelm you with information at
this point. If you want to know more details about a particular aspect of our
journey, then please contact us.
Our
first years were mostly about our buildings and how we could use
environmentally friendly ideas to encourage others to follow our lead but it
was becoming very evident that it should be more about our Service, lifestyle
and our Global Community, both at Church but also in our own homes. We had
looked at a scheme a few years previously called Eco-Congregation which
appeared to us to be very complicated but this was being replaced by
Eco-Church, a system divided into 5 categories, each with a checklist.
So,
in 2016 we signed up and went through all the statements, a tick list, and soon
realised that we had already passed the Bronze level and had reached the
Silver. Little did we know that we would be the first Church in the whole of England
and Wales to do so? Other Churches were ahead of us as they had already
achieved the Eco-Congregation award.
Since
then we have been using the same tick list to encourage ourselves to do more,
for example choosing to buy our electricity and gas via a green tariff and
supporting toilet twinning. In a way it has become our Quality Assurance
document, there is always something new to try.
In
November 2018, Church Meeting agreed to go ahead with Phase Three of our Going
Green Environmental Project which has three main principles:-
1/
To continue to reduce our carbon footprint across our Church buildings.
2/
To support a third world project which is affected by Climate Change each year
by donating £250.00.
3/
To continue to work towards our Eco – Church Gold Award.
Our
over-riding aims of encouraging and supporting others to follow our lead, goes
without saying.
Not
everything we can do will cost a lot of money. Okay, transforming our Victorian
school rooms cost £220,000 – a mighty lot of fund-raising, grant applications
and low interest loans to pay back, but now we have a ground source heat pump
which keeps our building as warm as toast, more welcoming, rentable even in the
winter and money from the Government for producing renewable heat.
I
am sure that you will all have lots of ideas of your own, these are a few
things that we have done, not bragging, encouraging and you don’t have to do
everything at once – one step at a time:-
Make
sure that all users turn lights off and close doors
If
you have different sized rooms, choose an appropriate size, especially in
winter
Hold
regular services highlighting the needs of Climate Change
Insulation
and secondary glazing
Recycling
computer ink cartridges through recycle4charity
Install
a Bra Bank and collect pairs of glasses for Vision Aid
Buy
different coloured waste bins to match the colour of your wheelie bins outside
Look
up Terracycle to reduce household plastics going into landfill
Encourage
your members to follow suit at home
Set
up a meeting with your MP
Link
with your nearest Sustainable/Transition Town
Look
at utility green tariffs
Replace
your lights with LEDs
Use
100% recycled paper
Car
share
Link
with other initiatives near you
Pray
for communities affected by Climate Change
Support
communities financially affected by Climate Change
Investigate
Eco-Church and see what you already do
Have
an Eco-Church Green Communion
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