Caring for Creation

“To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth”

This is one of the 5 Marks of Mission for the Anglican Communion and at All Hallows we are working on how as individuals and as a Church Community we can work towards achieving this.This includes looking at how we manage our Churchyard - for more information about this please click on the link to the left of this page. 

We started thinking about this with serious intent at a service in November 2021 which coincided with the COP26 event. At this service we discussed how we could reduce our impact on the environment and live in a more sustainable way.  At the service the leaflet produced by Green Christians – ‘Nine ways to live gently on the Earth’ – was shared with the congregation. A summary is available below and the full leaflet can be found here. 

We also signed up to the EcoChurch Community scheme run by A Rocha UK. Our aim was to achieve their Bronze Award in 2024.  We are delighted that in May 24 we were awarded the SILVER ECO CHURCH AWARD - this is a tribute to all the hard work done by our congregation and a small but keen Eco Church group. More information about A Rocha Eco Church can be found on their website. 

Below is our latest Eco Church newsletter. Previous newsletters are held in the Eco Church library which you can access by clicking on the link to the left of this page. 

The focus in 2023 was to look at how we can be more energy efficient in how we run the church and how we can ensure our churchyard is a haven for wildlife and nature (see link on left). We have made good progress on becoming. re energy efficient - within the confines of being a Grade 1 listed medieval church !  In 2024 we are spending more time looking at how we can better manage the Churchyard and have been grateful for an active team of volunteers who have worked hard building compost areas and clearing paths and mown areas in the churchyard. We hope to build a bug hotel during the summer months and erect some bird boxes. 

We have a  notice board at the back of Church with information, hints and tips and people at the service were asked to make an environmental pledge and these are displayed on the board. Pledges include eating less meat, not buying any new clothes for at least a year, walk instead of driving, look into buying solar panels, garden organically, recycle more and avoid buying things with excess packaging.  

A good way to start is to use your LOAF when buying products:

            L - Locally produced 

            O -Organically grown

            A - Animal friendly

            F – Fairly traded 

 We have also placed three recycle bins in   Church for products that are difficult for people to recycle at home. These are available for anyone in the local community to use as the Church is open everyday. So, please bring along any of the following and use our recycle bins:

·      Medical blister packs, plastic pill bottles, vitamin bottle, plastics vials and plastic syringes (no sharps and emptied of liquids and washed out)

·      PPE – masks, plastic gloves and visors

·      Lateral flow testing kits – put the entire used kit in the plastic bag provided & seal  

·      Eyewear

·      Unrecyclable bathroom waste e.g toothbrushes, dental floss, bottles and tubes

·      Party supplies 

·      Pens 

-  Unwanted Electrical items e.g cameras, mobile phones, tablet computers

- Jewellery

- Stamps and currency 

The notice board is regularly updated with topical hints and ideas. But we want more ideas and people to challenge what we are doing to ensure that we out sustainability at the heart of all we do. 

We are looking at the products we use around the church to ensure that they are environmentally friendly and fair trade – one unexpected challenge is how to avoiding using oasis in flower arrangements ! We are asking people not to use plastic and non-biodegradable items in our churchyard. 

Together with the Mother’s Union we are putting together information for wedding couples on how they can plan a more sustainable wedding. More about this to follow. 

When there is a 5^th Sunday in the month, we hold a Caring for Creation service. This is often lay led and is an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made and to learn lessons from each others and others in the EcoChurch community.   

There is much to do and we know we will have some challenges along the way, not least how we can protect and heat our medieval church in a more sustainable way. Please help us along this journey.  

For more information check out these websites: 

www.greenchristian.org.uk – Green Christian is an organisation for Christians who are concerned about the environment and its websites has details of campaigns and events and resources to help you live more sustainably. 

www.fairtrade.org.uk – includes details of buying Fair Trade products