At St Philips, we are committed to the stewardship of God's creation and actively participate in the Eco Church scheme—a program that encourages churches to take tangible steps towards environmental sustainability. We are proud to announce that our efforts earned us the 'bronze' award status within the Eco Church framework in 2022.

The Eco Church Scheme

The Eco Church scheme, developed by A Rocha UK, provides a framework for churches to address key areas of environmental impact, including worship and teaching, buildings, land, community, and lifestyle. By engaging in this program, we aim to align our values with practical actions that contribute to the well-being of our planet.

Achieving Bronze Award Status

1. Worship and Teaching

  • Encouraging Environmental Awareness: We regularly provide advice, encouragement and positive messages related to caring for God’s Earth in our worship, our communications and our prayers.

  • Educational Events: Hosting events such as ‘Fairtrade Sunday’ to educate our congregation to think about environmental issues and how they can make a positive impact.

2. Buildings

  • Energy Efficiency: Implementing energy-saving measures, such as insulation, double-glazing, LED lighting, solar-energy, energy-efficient appliances, and regular maintenance to reduce our carbon footprint.

  • We have installed ‘Swift Boxes’ to encourage nesting on our church hall building.

3. Land

  • Creation Care Initiatives: Undertaking initiatives to enhance the biodiversity of our church grounds, such as planting flowers, maintaining wildlife-friendly spaces and creating our ‘Bug Church’ bug hotel.

4. Community

  • Conservation Work: We are looking for opportunities to engage with the local community on environmental issues through conservation work or community clean-up projects.

  • Green Team: We have established a dedicated team within the church to spearhead eco-friendly initiatives, organise events, and promote sustainable practices.

5. Lifestyle

  • Carbon Footprint Reduction: We include information in our newsletters & noticeboards to encourage our congregation to adopt sustainable lifestyle practices, such as reducing personal carbon footprints, supporting local and sustainable products, and making environmentally conscious choices.

  • Prayer and Reflection: We incorporate environmental concerns into our prayer life and encouraging moments of reflection on the impact of our daily choices.

Moving Forward

While achieving the 'bronze' award is a significant milestone, our journey toward environmental sustainability is ongoing. We remain committed to furthering our efforts, with the goal of attaining higher levels within the Eco Church scheme and making a lasting impact on our community and the planet.

Join us on this exciting journey as we strive to be faithful stewards of God's creation and fulfil our responsibility to care for the Earth.