Congratulations on achieving the Gold Eco Award, Wombourne URC! It has been fantastic to see all the hard work and dedication put into stewarding God’s earth and caring for the community that God has placed you in.
Now, reader, you might be wondering what steps are taken to achieve the Eco Gold Award for your Church. Well, it involves having an ethos that is environmentally focused which is the focus of your congregation and community. It also involves key documentation and processes such as a comprehensive land management plan and completion of Eco Church’s online survey. The Eco Church Survey will tell you whether the answers that you have submitted make you eligible for a Bronze, Silver or Gold Eco Award. Eco Church will also want to interview people from within your Church’s Eco team along with looking at your Climate Stewards 360-degree carbon footprint report.
To achieve their gold award, Wombourne URC wrote about the eco garden they planted for the wildlife as well as the Church and members of the public to reflect and enjoy God’s creation. They also set up a Church notice board so passersby would be aware of events and service times. There are also reminders to switch off lights and heating as well as implementing temperature limiters in their meeting room. All “A” rated boilers have programmable timers, and many light bulbs are now LED. All toilets are dual flush and are each twinned (“twinning toilets” means you can donate to provide safe water, decent toilets and healthy hygiene to a country of your choice) and they are beginning to buy eco-friendly cleaning products. The congregation and other people who use the hall can also donate items that can be recycled and reused.
The Church’s newsletter has a coloured photo each month which invites readers to be thankful for the natural world along with an eco-section that encourages readers to continue to search for and implement sustainable ways to look after the earth. Wombourne URC also have ties abroad and provide resources for those who live in Gambia so they can help themselves to access education and health care.
These implementations are among the wide variety of ways that congregations can continue to steward God’s earth. This gives you a glimpse into the actions that lead to achieving a Gold Eco Award and are hopefully encouraged by seeing fellow brothers and sisters in Christ reach an incredible milestone! We, at the Synod, also want to encourage and congratulate everyone for all the hard work they are putting in at each of your churches and hopefully this article has encouraged you in continuing to steward God’s creation!
Emma Wright,
Communications Officer