“I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10b

Charity No. 1145463

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Christ Church
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Diocese of Southwark
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Eco-Church
Silver Award

Christ Church West Wimbledon

© Christ Church West Wimbledon & Ash Design, 2012

EcoChurch

We’ve got a Silver Award!

This is a fantastic achievement for Christ Church. In March 2022, A Rocha UK confirmed our Silver Eco Church Award – the scheme run for churches in England and Wales who want to demonstrate their response to the biblical mandate to care for the earth, and the Christian hope for God’s world. Look out for the plaque in church which will soon be in place.

ECO-CHURCH SILVER CERTIFICATE

The Eco Church Group aims to strengthen our care for God’s earth and all his creation as a core part of our faith at Christ Church. We completed an online survey that enables us to both record what we’re doing to care for God’s earth, and to reflect on what further steps we can take. The survey includes five key areas of church life:

• Worship and teaching
• Management of church buildings
• Management of church land
• Community and global engagement
• Lifestyle

Find out more at: https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/

The Diocese of Southwark’s newspaper. The Bridge, has an article about Christ Church’s award:
THE BRIDGE – CHRIST CHURCH ECO-CHURCH

At Christ Church, here are some things that have become part of our annual church calendar to show our care for the environment, for God’s Earth and all His Creation.

 Annual Creationtide display in church of pictures, objects and artefacts donated by the congregation

 Creationtide and Harvest Services with environmental themes

 Church and environment teaching and activities for Junior Church, Stepping Up & KFH youth group

 Annual communal Christmas card designed by children & young people at church

 RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch – surveying birds in our gardens each January

 WWF Earth Hour in March

 Churches Count on Nature survey of wildlife in churchyards and gardens in June

Highlights of 2021

Undoubtedly, the highlight in 2021 was our speaker event in the lead up to COP26 – Changing Our Planet: Christian and Local Action. On the 9th October, over 50 people joined us from the local community and other churches. We enjoyed excellent presentations from Tearfund, Sustainable Merton and Young Christian Climate Network.

In November 2021, the PCC approved a Carbon Net Zero Plan for Christ Church, so we will play our part in the Church of England’s target for all parts of the church to work to become carbon ‘net zero’ by 2030. This means that we will calculate our carbon footprint each year and minimise our emissions from all sources and offset the remainder in sustainable ways. We’ve undertaken many energy-saving projects in the last few years in the church and hall and we’ve switched to 100% renewable electricity.

We have joined the Wimbledon Green Churches group and are engaging in joint ventures and sharing ideas.

And here are some of the things we’ve achieved in the last 3 years to strengthen our care for the environment.

 Partnered in prayer with A Rocha Kenya – a Christian conservation charity

 Insulated & secondary glazed the hall & parish office & switched to low-energy lighting

 Twinned all the toilets in our refurbished church hall through Tearfund’s Toilet Twinning Campaign

 Reduced waste such as single-use plastic and increasing recycling

 Encouraged church members and the public to enjoy our gardens for recreation and prayer with refurbished seating and new planting

 Made our gardens more bird-friendly with bird feeders and nesting boxes

 Encourage insects in our gardens with wild flower beds and insect hotels

 Focused on the role of Christians in the care of God’s Creation in our parish magazine.

 Held Lent Groups on creation & care for the environment

 Produced planners for Lenten Fasts for Creation for members of the congregation to follow

Care for Creation is now woven into so many of our church activities from cleaning to youth work, and from finance to social events. And our main achievement? All these activities to demonstrate our care for God’s Earth and all Creation are no longer just for Eco Church – but simply church.

A Creationtide article written by Lucy for the Autumn Edition (2022) of the Eco Church Connect, can be read on the EcoChurch Connect website :

EcoChurch Updates

Or downloaded as a PDF file :

EcoChurch Updates (Autumn 2022)