Emmanuel has recently received its second Eco-Congregation Award and this was presented at the harvest Service in October 2010. This Award recognises consistent effort in trying to maintain energy use reduction strategies and effective waste management. There has also been continued emphasis on the value of creation in worship and preaching, including a ‘green month’ when a transport audit was carried out. A food cone has been installed to deal with small amounts of food waste. A small Environment Group has worked on the Church’s policies on food and buildings to help to create a framework for future decision-making. Presentation of a 2nd Award is an encouragement for the congregation to continue looking at individual lifestyles, biodiversity in the church grounds and sustainable running of the church as a whole. “We recognise that this is an on-going and important aspect of how the Church functions,” says the new Rector, Michael Broadley.
Eco-Congregation is an A Rocha UK project that aims to encourage churches to consider environmental issues within a Christian context and to enable local churches to make positive contributions to their life and mission.
Emmanuel also supports A Rocha UK a Christians in Conservation charity.
Living Lightly is an A Rocha UK initiative to encourage and motivate us to make practical changes in all areas of our lives so that we can be better stewards of God's creation. The site has links to useful websites and resources, an on-line community that you can share your thoughts and questions with and a number of tips and ideas on how to live more simply.
The flowerbeds around the church have been tidied-up and re-planting as part of our effort for 'Loughborough in Bloom'
February 2008 was 'Environment Month' at Emmanuel. The sermons explored a Christian understanding of the place of the environment in the scheme of things. We carried out a transport survey, to see where people travelled from, and how they got to church. From the 270 people who responded 179 came by car, travelling 362 car miles. 80 walked an average distance of 1 mile, and 17 people cycled an average of 2 miles.
We also produced a Food Note, summarising the ethical and other choices available today and suggesting, especially for families, a priority rating of the different criteria, which could be fun. Download the Note here. For a summary of how to lighten your environmental load a little, see these Notes.
We have undertaken an energy audit, and are carrying out a resource input and waste audit. A suggestions sheet for thinking through the selection and purchase of food can be downloaded HERE.
To improve the sustainability of your daily life you should find this list of links useful.
