As a Church body, we believe that care for God’s most wonderful creation is a foundational biblical command and is central to Christian Mission. We recognise that, climate change threatens the delicate equilibrium of creation that sustains life and that biodiversity is collapsing throughout the globe. We acknowledge that God needs us, His people, to play our part in His redemption story.
As a church, we are therefore committed to taking our environmental impact and use of resources fully into account in our work, worship, teaching, and programmes. We also seek to promote a spirit of Christian joy and fullness of life as we work to increase awareness of environmental issues in our church and village community, working towards us all enjoying simpler, greener lifestyles.
As a framework for this work, we have joined the Eco Church movement. ECO Church, run by A Rocha UK, aims to help churches of all denominations make the link between environmental issues and the Christian faith, and to respond with practical action in the church, in the lives of individuals, and in the local and global community.
At the heart of Eco Church is a unique, online survey that enables us as a church to both record what we are already doing to care for God’s earth, and to reflect on what further steps we can take and then to act accordingly. The survey covers all areas of church life. Some examples of questions we are asking ourselves are:
- Are our buildings as energy efficient as we can make them?
- Are our own lifestyles as environmentally friendly as we can make them?
- Does our worship reflect the importance of care for God’s creation and care for those most affected by climate change?
- How are we supporting and working with other organisations and individuals in our village who are also concerned about this issue?
- Do we support environmental charities in our giving?
- How do we make our church land more nature friendly?
- Do you have ideas of new things that we could do as a Church to help tackle climate change and promote greener living in our community?
Would you like to get involved with the Eco Church team? Please do get in touch by email: Ecochurch@brockenhurstchurch.com
