In June 2024, A Rocha UK awarded the 50th Gold Eco Church and we are celebrating! Any church reaching a gold award is an impressive achievement and tells the story of hard work, prayer and committed action. As with all the award levels, they are markers to work towards, but the real goal is each and every action taken, prayer prayed, person influenced, and wildflower planted, because all of these are part of our worship and witness of a God who loves all of His creation.
Achieving gold means that creation care is embedded in the life of a church for the long term. To achieve this, churches must reach a gold level across all five categories of the Eco Church survey that apply to them, as well as showcase their activities by presenting supporting evidence to sit alongside their survey. The church then receives a visit so we can see and celebrate all they are doing.
St John and St Stephen’s Church, situated in Reading town centre, is the 50th church to achieve gold. Their Eco Group chair, Joanna Laynesmith said, ‘I still can’t quite believe we’ve made it to gold, but we’re all thrilled! It has been a big team effort with many people bringing very different gifts, not just within our congregation but those who’ve supported us from outside too. What I’ve really appreciated is the way the Eco Church survey provides opportunities for people with different passions to see how creation care impacts on their concerns: from wildlife lovers like me to those who found our children’s work blossoming through Forest Church and those trying to support people in fuel poverty. Now a new journey starts as we aim for net zero and to build up our wildlife oasis’.
Churches across England and Wales have achieved gold awards, from St Mary’s Church, Bradoc set high on a hill in the most sparsely populated parish in Cornwall, to St John’s Waterloo situated next to a busy roundabout in central London. To mention just a few highlights, of so many, in Henllan, Wales St Sadwrn’s Church set up a warm space that has become integral to the local community, addressing food waste from local supermarkets and combatting community isolation. Meanwhile, in Lancashire, Clitheroe URC developed a wildlife garden from wasteland during lockdown, whilst Baildon Methodist Church in Bradford have done impressive work around their building, and have over 20 years of caring for creation behind them. Each church, from rural to urban, brings a different story with unique challenges and highlights in their context.
