Eco-church blog

Eco-Church Silver Award plaque

Silver Eco-Church Award for St Andrews

St Andrew’s has achieved a Silver Award from Eco-Church for its achievements in becoming an environmentally friendly church and congregation.   Despite the lockdown, we can report the latest stage in our Eco-Church journey.  We are developing a wild garden at the side of the church in front of the vestry.  Various grasses are waving elegantly and […]

Eco-Church in the time of coronavirus

During February the coronavirus pandemic started to make itself felt in the UK and we soon had to take some tough decisions.  After Sunday worship on 15th March we cancelled all services and meetings for the time being.  During the week we contacted all hall user groups; most of them had already decided to stop meeting and we […]

A Short Prayer

Lord God We are finding out that this planet and its elements  are held in a balance which is more complex than we ever thought possible. Forgive us, Lord, for our pride in thinking that we can control this world that you created without consulting you. In Jesus’ name, Amen John Bazlinton, from ‘Prayers for a […]

Thoughts for our life style

As a silver level Eco-Church, we should be looking at ways to reduce our carbon footprint both at Church and in our daily lives. During the damp and cold days of winter, we should be setting our heating thermostats to avoid heat waste….and wear an extra jumper or a rug over your knee when sitting […]

General Election promises?

When we consider how to cast our vote on 12th December, do we think about the parties’ policies on climate change?  Devastating floods swept through the Midlands and South Yorkshire during November, not least in Derbyshire, brought by unprecedented rainfall bringing water pouring off the moors into rivers unable contain the flow.  It is more than time to […]

Eco-friendly products

Our friends from Holymoorside discovered an Eco-stall in the market when they stopped in Skipton on their way to a holiday in the Lake District.  “We found this amazing Eco-stall where we could refill your bottles with shampoo, washing up liquids etc.  Also on sale were eco-friendly items e.g. plastic free wipes for children and […]

Introduction

St Andrew’s registered for the Eco-Church award scheme two years ago and at the time there were some significant gaps in our responses to the five sections of the environmental survey.  Since then we have made marked improvements to the insulation, heating and lighting of the premises.  We have taken steps to encourage all our […]

Tree Planting

On the first Sunday in August, worship at St Andrew’s focused on the climate emergency and what we can do in response.  Actions replaced the sermon as we each wrote a promise on a label and hung it on a ‘promise tree’  at the front of the church.   After worship we gathered to plant a rowan […]