Eco Church
What is Eco Church?
From mediation to insulation, from location to invocation,
loving God and his creation should impact everything our church lives.
This is why A Rocha UK has developed Eco Church- an award scheme for churches in England and Wales who
want to demonstrate that they care for God’s Earth,
With a whole suite of supporting resources, Eco Church will
help you ‘go green’ in all areas of your church life, from worship to building
management, outreach to personal lifestyle.
And the work you do will all count towards a prestigious
Bronze, Silver or Gold Eco Church Award.
We really hope your church will take part in this exciting
initiative, which will challenge and equip you to care for God’s world in all
areas of your life together.
How Does it work?
Churches complete a unique online survey about how your
church operates in different areas of its life and work. Your answers will
collect points towards an Eco Church award- the more your church does the more
points you get!
If your score doesn’t gain you an Eco Church Award straight
away, don’t worry- the idea is to complete suggested tasks in order to gain the
points necessary for an award. For example, you can switch to a green energy
company or use Fairtrade for your tea and coffee supplies to gain Eco Church
points.
The survey takes you through five key areas of church life:
·
Worship
and Teaching
o
Eco Services
o
Environment being included in children/youth
work, hymns, prayers, small group study
·
Management
of Church Buildings
o
Energy efficiency, double glazing, insulation,
solar panels, lighting, recycling
·
Management
of Church Land
o
Encouragement of wildlife, composting
·
Community
and Global Engagement
o
Environmental community events e.g. eco-fairs,
film nights
o
Working with other churches
o
Supporting environmental charities
o
Fairtrade
·
Lifestyle
o
Encouraging members to reduce their
environmental impact
o
Ethical investments
It takes into account whether or not you church has
buildings or land. You can save your survey responses at any point and return
to update them as your church completes additional actions.
There are free, Eco Church resources which will give lots of
support and advice about how to make the changes you church needs to become an
Eco-Church. Once your survey indicates that you have enough points for an
award, you can apply to become an Eco Church!
The award has three levels- Bronze, Silver and Gold- and you
will receive a certificate and (optional) plaque from A Rocha UK. At bronze and
silver level, they will require a letter of confirmation from you church leader
that the survey response are a true reflection of the current work and witness
of your church. A Gold award will be granted following a visit to your church
by an Eco Church Assessor.
How long will it take to get an award?
The survey takes about 20 minutes to fill in- but the amount
of work your church does to qualify for an award and the time that takes is up
to you! A bronze award will take less time that a Gold Award- but if you are
going for an award, we say “go for Gold!”
How much does it cost?
Taking part in Eco Church is absolutely free! You can register your church, complete the survey,
apply for your award and receive your certificate without any charge. However,
there may be costs attached to the work that your church decides to do in order
to become an Eco Church. You also have the opportunity to purchase an award
plaque so that you can display your Eco-Church status for all to see!
How do we get started?
We are delighted that you want your church to be involved in
caring for God’s Earth!
To start your journey towards an Eco Church award please
visit:
You will need to register your church to be able to save
your survey and apply for an award. This only takes a few minutes to do and
will allow you to go back into your survey and change your answers as your
church completes the work required to achieve an award.
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