Honouring the season of Creation, an eco-event was held in the Diocese of Leicester on Saturday (26 September), to mark 10 years of the Eco Church Award and continue the conversation as to how we, as church communities, can care for God’s creation.
A time for celebration and inspiration, around 30 people gathered at HTL church in the city to celebrate a decade of the A Rocha Award scheme and encourage one another to take the next steps in their Eco Church journeys.
The group, representing worshipping communities from across the diocese and our ecumenical partners, were blessed to hear from Bishop Saju as he explored gardens, explaining how they are a central theme in the Bible.
“The story of Scripture moves from a garden lost, to a garden redeemed, to a garden restored,” he said.
It starts with the Garden of Gift, where all things were created through Jesus; then moves into the Garden of Groaning, where as part of Jesus’s death, we join in with the groaning of all creation; and it ends in the Garden of Glory, where Jesus reconciles all things to himself and renews all things.
It was a powerful message to recognise that Christ is central to creation and that this is part of the good news we share with all around us.
They then heard stories from around the world on how climate change and environmental issues are affecting our link dioceses.
Currently visiting our diocese, Bishop Bethuel, Bishop of Kiteto in Tanzania, spoke of food scarcity as crops fail and livestock die due to the lack of water, food and excess heat; of water scarcity with 20% of water disappearing and snow gone from Kilimanjaro; of extreme weather events (drought and intense rains which wash away soil) and following illnesses (such as cholera, dysentery, malaria). Although politicians are not engaging, Bishop Bethuel shared that the church is helping people with clean energy and mobilising their communities to act through regular eco-themed sermons. They recognise the emergency.
Tom Ketner of Wyoming Diocese, USA, spoke about the drought currently being experienced in the area (only 3% of the annual snow pack fell last winter) and the impact that is having on the local farmers and food production. However, the state is predominately a MAGA state and changing beliefs and behaviours is very difficult.
The church is responding by challenging political action and supporting local indigenous communities to protect their land from exploitation, damage and destruction.
Michael Ravuri and Andrew Farrington visited Trichy Diocese in India earlier this year and spoke of the tsunami (2004) and the damage that was done to the land, the livelihoods of the communities as well as the emotional toil as over 10,000 people died.
They were shocked by the waste issues the country faces – the incongruity of living with nature and yet depositing waste there.
Andrew shared the impact of Bishop Heber College, who are trying to mitigate this through environmental education, creating sustainable waste treatments and making their own recycled paper: they are looking to see the ripple impact as their 13,000 students make an impact in their local communities. And this is all done through faith – Michael, recalling the ways the Holy Spirit is bringing transformation.
Attendees then joined one of two workshops: one on greener gardening and the other on carbon literacy. Both of them inspired new actions to take within their own church communities.
Finally, those gathered walked around a variety of stalls meeting charities and business who are looking to work alongside churches in their Eco Church awards, including: bat conservation, climate action, heated pew seats, and sustainable transport.
A short video of these contributors will be available soon.
Anne Scott, Deputy Diocesan Environment Officer, said: “It was a useful and educational morning which touched our hearts as well as helped develop our understanding.”
For help and support, you can contact Anne Scott on AnneScott@htl.church