Caring for our Planet

All Saints Church is committed to caring for our planet and this is an important part of what our Church does in our commission to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, with the aim:

To seek to transform unjust structures of society, strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth.

A Fairtrade Church

All Saints is proud to say that it is a Fairtrade Church, having gained this status in 2014 and renewed this pledge in 2020.  This means that we serve only Fairtrade tea, coffee and sugar at Church events, and actively promote the buying of Fairtrade goods throughout the year.

“Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world.”  For more information go to:

https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/What-is-Fairtrade

An Eco Church

All Saints is also a member of the A Rocha Eco Church Scheme and in November 2021 we were awarded an Eco Church Silver Award.

What this means is that we have used many opportunities in our worship and teaching to learn more about our responsibilities in caring for our planet including setting aside the months of September and October to focus on God’s creation.

We have also made improvements to our how we light, heat and insulate our buildings, what we buy for the Church and Hall (including changing our fuel supplier to a more ‘green’ one, and changing our loo roll and washing up liquid to eco-friendly products), and how we re-use and recycle what we have.  And the small area of land that we have is gradually being changed to one that attracts birds and insects, with added composting facilities and the recent addition of a water butt.

We use Fairtrade goods and locally-grown food when we can, and dispose of our food waste in an eco-friendly way.  We have also ‘twinned’ one of our toilets – 3 more to go!  Everyone is actively encouraged to buy eco-friendly products and re-use and recycle as much as they can.

We are now working towards a Gold Award.

Reducing our carbon footprint

All Saints Church has measured its carbon footprint and has pledged to become a Net Zero Carbon Church by 2030.  An action plan is in place to achieve this.  This will be challenging with a Victorian Church and a 1960’s Church Hall, but we are committed to doing this.

For more information go to: https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/

And: https://www.toilettwinning.org/

December 2021