Congratulations to St Barnabas Church in Worcester who have achieved their Silver Eco Church award from A Rocha. Judy and Chris Ford are the Eco-reps for the parish and have been working with the PCC on improving the environmental credentials of the church.
They said: “Since achieving our bronze award in 2019, we revisited the online survey on the Eco Church website and gradually worked through it, making small improvements where we could. The biggest change we made was to switch all the lighting in both the church and church hall to lower energy LED lights, but we have also taken smaller steps forward, for example installing recycling bins in church, joining in with ‘No mow May’, putting up bird boxes and planning a wildflower area outside the church.”
The couple have also made sure that caring for our environment is included regularly within worship, for example inviting a speaker from the local repair café and using the sermon slot to collect data through a lifestyle audit of the congregation. Judy has also written regular articles in the parish magazine, including setting a ‘green target’ each month.
“It has helped that there is now a greater awareness of climate change and our responsibility to tackle it. The incumbent and congregation have been incredibly supportive and we couldn’t have achieved the silver award without their help! They’ve got involved with lots of our ideas at church and have been encouraged to take part in things at home too, for example the Big Garden Birdwatch.”
The church is now hoping to work towards gold, although they know that it will be more challenging. The PCC has roof repairs on their agenda, which with modern building regulations could mean better insulation. With the roof repairs, it may be possible to consider include solar roof tiles and rainwater harvesting to flush the church hall toilets.
Judy and Chris would encourage other parishes to work through the Eco Church questionnaire to see what they can achieve. “The Eco Church website is really helpful, it takes you through everything that you need to do. Don’t be put off by the different questions – you’ll be surprised at what you’re already doing. Getting an energy audit is a good idea if you’re able to and then put a small group together to see what changes you can make – we’re sure all churches can achieve an Eco Church award!”
