Congratulations to St Peter’s Church in Pedmore who have achieved their silver Eco Church award from A Rocha. The church were delighted to receive the award before Christmas after submitting all their evidence.
“We didn’t expect it to come through so quickly,” said churchwarden Pauline Rollason. “We went through and answered all of the survey questions and also submitted some additional evidence, which A Rocha commented on in their response.”
St Peter’s has a permanent display in their porch with some eco-friendly ‘everyday alternatives’ to things such as bin bags and kitchen towel. They also gave out Lent guides to being greener and plastic free and have added compost bins to the churchyard. There is a bin to recycle soft plastics at the back of church and the church holds regular eco coffee mornings which includes sales of second-hand clothing and other items.
“We have also hung pictures of butterflies and other insects in the trees in the churchyard which feature bible verses and hymns about creation. Recently a young mum who doesn’t attend church mentioned that they always come to see the butterflies – it was lovely to get feedback that they’re appreciated.” Said Pauline. “We promote the repair café and eco shop in Stourbridge and last Christmas we sold the ‘Forest Bar’ from the Meaningful Chocolate Company which plants a tree for each bar sold. We enabled over 300 trees to be planted in Madagascar!”
The church is now planning to register for their gold award and start working towards it. “We try to the care of God’s creation central to everything we do,” continued Pauline. “We have helped to promote the Eco Church scheme to other churches and try to also support them in their journeys. We are already achieving the gold standard on the worship and teaching section and although we know that it’s going to be a challenge to reach this level on the other sections, we will keep plugging away!”
