Eco ChurcH
Eco Blog by Chris Marshall (Member of our church)
In my last blog I was able to announce that we, as Trinity Church, have obtained our Bronze Eco award and that we will now be looking for ideas and inspiration to reduce our carbon footprint further and aim for the silver award. Maybe the title Eco Church makes one think that it is only the Church, and hence just the building, that needs addressing but the scheme encompasses everyone who uses the church premises too so perhaps we need to think in the wider terms of the actions that can be taken by an Eco Church Family. Earlier this week a couple of us visited Romsey Methodist Church to see how they managed to achieve their Gold award and although it has been led by a large proactive team it was really through the work and actions of the whole church community coming together that the lifestyle and engagement sections of the eco scheme were realised. For them it has become a way of life that has spilled over into their own personal choices and therefore how they choose to manage their church premises and activities that occur there on a daily basis too.
As a church we often give praise for God’s wonderful creation through reading of Bible passages, singing hymns and in our prayers and we also talk about the social injustice that occurs in our world so have a good foundation from which to work upon. We now need to take action and address the impact that each one of us has on our world and on each other. Over the past few weeks we have seen horrific pictures of wildfires that have brought total devastation to many areas across Europe, Canada and the Hawaiian Island of Maui, whilst in China, Pakistan and Indonesia there have been torrential floods and landslides. Without being directly affected it is almost impossible to understand the enormity of these situations and the impact these events have on wildlife, environment and ultimately on people across the globe. Most of us in this country have experienced a wet and rather dismal summer but how fortunate are we that we are not fleeing for our lives or witnessing the loss of our homes or livelihoods. There is now undisputed evidence that the lifestyles and consumption of fossil fuels by affluent nations is leading to global warming. Injustice is at the very heart of the global climate change and unfortunately the countries and people worst affected by the climate crisis are often the ones who have the lowest impact on the environment.
Prayer:
Creator God, the world you have made is wonderful.
We are sorry for our exploitation of the earth
We are fearful of the consequences of what we have done.
Lord, have mercy on the planet.
Give us the courage to speak,
The strength to make sacrifices,
And the will to change.
In your love for what you have made,
Help us heal and restore the land.
Amen