Eco Church is a scheme run by A Rocha UK, equipping churches to care for God's creation through their worship, buildings, land, community engagement, and individual lifestyles.

Essentially, the idea is that churches make a commitment to demonstrate their engagement with the environment by working towards an award.

There are five areas that a church must demonstrate environmental engagement with to receive an award:

• Worship and teaching

• Management of church buildings

• Management of church land

• Community and global engagement

• Lifestyle

According to the Church of England website: ‘As of the end of 2022, there are 1155 Bronze, 401 Silver, and 23 Gold Church of England Eco Churches, and our first two gold cathedrals; Salisbury and Chelmsford. The scheme is a fantastic resource for encouraging churches, cathedrals, and dioceses to embody the fifth mark of mission.’
 

St Mary’s is taking its first steps towards the Bronze Award! If you care about the environment and would like to get involved, contact  Rachel Carter (raich.carter@yahoo.co.uk)