St Peter’s Church, Lodsworth

St Mary’s Church, Easebourne

St James’ Church, Selham

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‘in FAITH we FOLLOW + in HOPE we LIVE + in LOVE we SERVE’

Eco Church - Net Zero Carbon 2030

Weekly ECO TIPS for May 2025

04-05-25

Say no to the mow!

Mowing your lawn less and letting parts grow long saves you time and helps give nature a home. If you want to make an even bigger impact on wildlife, wait to mow your lawn or a section of it until August to support even more animals.

You can read more about this campaign on this website: www.plantlife.org.uk

11-05-25

Mental Health Awareness Week (May 12-18)

The rise in different forms of ‘eco anxiety’ should not come as a surprise given we are facing an unprecedented ecological crisis. Concern in the face of this threat is totally understandable but can be deeply debilitating.  Facing and sharing our true feelings about something tough, opens the door to addressing the issue in our hearts and minds.  Developing a strong mutually supportive relationship between people and the environment is critical if we are to be encouraged to play our part in environmental stewardship fully, and so is keeping our faith in a God whose love is always bigger than our human failures.  Read more about climate anxiety here: www. arocha.org.uk/climate-anxiety-and-the-church

18-05-25

Hang it all out to dry!

Whether due to the increasing costs of electricity, or because of environmental concerns, many people who previously only used the tumble dryer for their laundry are now moving over to line drying their clothes. To those of us who have always used the washing line for the laundry, this is all second nature, but if you have only ever tumble dried your clothes up to now, line drying can seem fiddly, frustrating and unnecessarily time consuming. But remember, it’s kinder to the environment and easier on your pocket.

Read some useful advice here: www.planetfriendlyliving.co.uk/post/top-tips-for-drying-clothes-outside

25-05-25

Waste not, want not!

Did you know that 9.5 million tonnes of food is wasted in the UK every year? This isn’t just a huge waste of food and money; it adds to the amount of CO2 and methane being created in landfills. So, easy ways to be eco-friendly in the kitchen include freezing leftover portions and cleaning out your fridge regularly, ensuring that you are aware of all use-by dates.

Read more here: www.businesswaste.co.uk/food-waste-the-facts/

For the Church of England, being ‘Net Zero Carbon 2030’ means that the carbon emissions of our buildings and travel will be reduced to less than 10% of our baseline levels. The remaining emissions will be offset in verified schemes that reduce carbon. That means overall, our buildings and travel will not contribute to rising carbon emissions: their contribution will be ‘net zero’. Responding to the climate crisis is an essential part of our responsibility to safeguard God’s creation and achieve a just world. The short animated video on the right highlights many of the steps that churches can take to achieve ‘Net Zero Carbon 2030’.

The Priory Churches journey towards Net Zero Carbon

    Actions completed so far (updated February 2025):

• Energy Footprint Tool completed for all Priory Churches.  St Mary’s 8.4 tonnes gross of CO2 produced, 87% of emission from gas
• Creation of Priory Churches Net Zero Carbon forum: meetings so far Oct 24 and Feb 25
• Reduce boiler burn at St Mary’s by 20% a week and maximum temperature reduced to 18C
• Attend Portsmouth Cathedral Net Zero Carbon conference (18 January 2025)
• Replace lightbulbs with LEDs: completed at St James’ and St Mary’s
• Energy champion to monitor bills and ensure switch off of equipment when not in use. (Phil Stringer)
• At St Mary’s, reduce use of east door and encourage use of main north door: reduces heat loss from draughts
• Net Zero information on the weekly church bulletin

A Rocha UK’s Eco Church scheme has made significant progress in encouraging local churches to care for creation as a core tenet of faith and to integrate this across every aspect of church life. It has played a significant role in enabling congregations across all denominations to embrace the responsibility of creation care and to see it as an expression of love for God and others, including the natural world.

A Rocha UK’s approach to Eco Church is one of facilitating the movement, encouraging a learning community, and ensuring that the programme behind it is dynamic, continuously developing to keep up with the science and options for action.

You can find out more from their website: https://arocha.org.uk

Climate Change - the facts - Sir David Attenborough

BBC documentary