I was inspired recently at a national Church of England conference for people working on environmental issues.
Held at the British Antarctic Survey headquarters in Cambridge, we got to hold and listen to 10,000-year-old ice: as it melts, gas escapes (which sounds like popping candy or a fizzy drink) and analysis of the gas not only gives insight into the atmosphere back then, but scientists are able to use their analysis to predict potential changes up until 2050. Probably even further ahead.
Some people think church and climate an odd combination of topics, but the Bible starts with God creating the world and all that makes it up – land, sea and sky; seeds, plants and fruit; birds, fish and animals. Finally, he made humans to take care of it. ‘And God saw that it was good.’
We talk about ‘five marks of mission,’ shared with 80 million Anglicans worldwide, which are the basic things we do to express our faith. The fifth mark is ’To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth’ and this has been backed up by various decisions made by General Synod.
The most challenging of those has been the adoption of goals to reach net-zero carbon emissions in our churches, vicarages and schools by 2030. This target is far more ambitious than our Government’s, but it is one I would agree is vital to combat the effects of climate change. It is a daunting and potentially expensive challenge when we take it seriously, but there is a scheme to help all churches work their way through the things that can be done – the quick wins (which some churches have even found saved them money) as well as the long haul. That’s the Eco Church awards scheme which guides parishes as they master bronze, silver and hopefully gold-level achievements.
In Lichfield diocese we currently have about half our churches enrolled in the scheme, with nearly fifty reaching the silver level and we were thrilled to have our first gold award last spring. Even the diocesan office and our cathedral have achieved silver awards. It can lead to lasting improvements for our buildings and our churchyards – some even make life easier such as designating part of a large and old churchyard as an eco-meadow! Reducing the frequency of mowing can enable flowers, bees, butterflies, birds, insects and small mammals all to benefit as well as making our churchyards pleasant places to be.
Of course, we can’t measure progress if we don’t know where we’re starting from. So we’re actively encouraging churches to complete the Energy Footprint Tool which takes a straightforward look at the circumstances and usage of energy in our churches. Last year around half of churches completed that challenge, and our goal is to encourage all to complete it this year. It’s not just a dull bit of bureaucracy, it can be very enlightening for creative and practical people to help their community – do ask your church leaders about your church.
A highlight of our conference for me was to hear the Church’s lead bishop for the environment, Bishop Graham Usher. In his presentation he said something significant that stuck with me (paraphrased). ‘We are all living in the Garden of Eden, we’ve been called to tend it and we have a responsibility to do that.’ Would you Adam and Eve it?!
Jan Firth (lower) is Diocesan Environmental Officer, assisted by Fiona North (above), Parish Project Support Officer.
The penguin performs no useful role in the diocese.
For more information about the Eco Church scheme, contact Jan at jan.firth@lichfield.anglican.org or visit the A Rocha website, www.ecochurch.arocha.org.uk