As a parish we are committed to living and worshipping sustainably
St Mary Magdalene Church has just been awarded its SILVER award and St Leonards Church its BRONZE award. (an award scheme run by A Rocha to encourage churches to care for creation as an integral part of loving their neighbours and following God faithfully)
Becoming an environmentally aware church is so much more than looking after our buildings in an efficient way. This journey affects every aspect of our life as a church. It’s about holistic mission.
“Reducing the causes of climate change is essential to the life of faith. It is a way to love our neighbour and to steward the gift of creation.” Archbishop Justin Welby
EDUCATING OURSELVES
A SMALL BIT OF WHAT WE ARE DOING
We are currently planning a “Green” fair, a clothes swap, wildlife surveys and more talks. Keep an eye on our Bitesize News for more information coming soon.
We are encouraging the use of re-usable cups
Did you know that the UK throws away approximately 50 Billion paper cups a week (according to the government’s Environmental Audit Committee report)? Due to the way paper cups are made as little as 1 in 400 get recycled.
Did you know that we have around 100 people coming to church every Sunday? When our cafe is open we serve hundreds of cups of tea, coffee, water and squash each week.
So we are encouraging our church family to do their part and bring a reusable cup with them to church each week to help us reduce the number of paper cups we use. You could perhaps buy one of our personalised mugs, (personalised with an aerial view of St Mary’s in the centre of Newark). Free coffee with every mug bought. £7.50 each. Just take your mug along when our coffee bar is open and our coffee bar manager will be pleased to fill it up.
We have become a Fairtrade Church
St Mary’s have become a fairtrade church and now use products in our coffee bar. We also hold fairtrade stalls from time to time.
Installations
We have installed a water butt on our church land, aswell as bird boxes and a garden area to attract the bees and butterflies.
We changed to using recycled paper products.
Now our toilet paper and printer paper is made from recycled paper.
Swapped to more efficient LED lights.
We’ve replaced most of our lights with more efficient LED lights.
Created a monthly theme
Check out our noticeboard in church for more information on the topic of the month.
We’ve prayed
We Created an Eco Circle of Prayer. Each week we pray for something surrounding the topic of the month.
Eco Noticeboard in church
Keep an eye on our display in church for topical items.
Eco Talks
We held a day of talks, we supported other organisations to hold events and meetings in church.
Slide Shows
We had a day of slide shows played whilst people wandered around our church, or sat and watched.
Climate Sunday Service and Week of Climate-focussed Activities
2021’s climate focussed week was a great success. Watch this space for more activities coming soon.
We went litter picking
and we hope to do it again soon.
Coat Drive
We held a coat drive for primary school aged children in partnership with our local Salvation Army’s “Clothing for Care” scheme.
The environment is God’s gift to everyone. And we have a responsibility towards each other to protect it. We cannot think of ourselves as isolated from others or from creation.
Our impact on the planet is reducing biodiversity, changing the climate, and polluting the earth. Around the world, climate change is affecting food security, creating social vulnerability, and disrupting peace and security. There is no doubt we need to act.
But there is good news. Almost every action you take will have a positive impact:
Cutting down air pollution will improve health
Saving energy saves you money
Eating less meat and more vegetables is good for you
Buying Fairtrade means a better deal for farmers
Large or small, your actions come with big practical paybacks.