Eco church

Reaching the Silver Award back in September did feel quite a milestone but there is still much more to do!  

The Den have been praying for the drought in Ethiopia and we would very much like those people who lead intercessions to pray for the climate emergency in the prayers. The A Rocha charity who run the eco church award scheme say the following:

Praying for the earth shouldn’t be a niche activity for a particular time or place, or for particular kinds of people (e.g., The ‘eco-faithful’). It should be an ‘ordinary’ and everyday part of the public and private prayers of all Christian people.

For those serving coffee, there will be a pot in the kitchen for the used coffee grounds and filter papers. Please make use of that and the eco group will then arrange to compost the contents.

Next year, we will run another Family Eco Quiz and a Prayer Walk  and possibly Beat the Bounds so do look out for further details. In the meantime, Christmas is nearly here, so:-

Christmas Jumpers

Could you donate a pre-loved Christmas jumper, for an adult or child ? Are you looking for a different Christmas jumper his year? If so, help is at hand! The Eco group are sharing a stall with the craft group  at the Christmas lights switch on at Kirklands on 2nd December  from 1-4pm and we will be selling pre-loved Christmas jumpers for adults and children  for  a suggested donation of £1. School Christmas jumper day is the 15th so you will be in time for that! If you wish to donate a jumper, please give to Catherine or Marilyn or bring on the day.

Communal Christmas card post box

It is almost time to write your Christmas cards! If you would like to send one card to all your friends at church please make use of the post box at the back of church. You will be saving the Earth’s resources! Cards will be displayed on the Baptistry.

December – Eco Christmas ideas

1. Be creative in the gifts you give this Christmas; make sure your desire to be loving is not damaging the environment. 

2. Getting ready for the festivities of Christmas. Buy as much locally produced, in season food and particularly veg as you can. Try not to over cater and waste food. 

3. Wrap and rewrap. Why not reuse your wrapping paper. Take a bit of care unwrapping your presents (it adds to the gift experience), save the paper and reuse next year. 

4. Enjoy the feast of Christmas! Don’t forget to recycle your rubbish. Don’t waste unwanted presents, find new homes for them through the charity shop or on ebay.

5. Get ready with your environmental New Year’s Resolution. How will you care for creation in the coming year?
   

January – In the kitchen

1. Never put warm or hot food into the fridge or freezer as this will make the fridge work extra hard to try and keep it cold; always allow food to cool down first.

2. Use a bowl to wash up rather than a running tap and save £25 a year in energy bills. www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-energy-efficiency/energy-saving-quick-wins 

3. When making a cup of tea, only boil the amount of water that you need. You waste electricity (and money) heating water you won’t use.

4. Stop using aluminium foil for cooking wherever possible; use a container with a lid that can be reused. Aluminium in a rare metal and its extraction and purification uses a lot of energy.

5. Eat less meat, particularly red meat; producing 1kg of beef produces the equivalent CO2 to you driving a 300 mile round trip while leaving all your lights on at home.

If you would like to join our local eco church group,Jen, Sally , Matthew, Catherine, Jeanne - Claire and Marilyn, do get in touch.