| Eco-Congregation is
a joint project of the Environmental Issues Network
of Churches
Together in Britain and Ireland which helps Christian
congregations in Britain and Ireland address environmental
concerns on both spiritual
and practical levels. Eco-Congregation is a free
program that is flexible enough to suit the unique
needs and situations of individual churches. Eco-Congregation
provides information about specific ecological
issues in the form of a set of twelve free Resource
Modules for use in church life. The Modules are
divided into four categories (Grounding in
Faith,
Managing
in
Faith,
Growing
in Faith, and Living in Faith), which are designed
to help congregations integrate creation care into
their worship, group activities, institutional
management procedures, and personal lifestyles.
Module one, "The Church Check-UP," is a basic environmental audit for churches
that aims to help churches recognize and affirm
their positive environmental practices and to prioritize
future areas that need improvement. The other eleven
modules are divided into three categories, "Growing
in Faith and Understanding," "Putting God's House
in Green Order," and "Changing Lives: Changing
Communities, and are designed to help congregations
integrate creation care into their worship, teaching,
group activities, management procedures, community
engagement, and personal lifestyles. Eco-Congregation
supports participating congregations through workshops,
an informational
website, newsletter,
and networking opportunities for connecting with
local environmental groups and other Eco-Congregations.
Eco-Congregation recognizes valuable creation-care
work with its Eco-Congregation Award, which is
given to churches that have completed the “Church
Check-Up,”
incorporated creation-care into their teaching
and worship, undertaken practical environmental
projects, and engaged with the local community
around environmental issues. More than 250 churches
from a wide variety of denominations are involved
in the program. Accomplishments of individual Eco-Congregation
churches include: creation care services, energy-saving
measures, recycling projects, conservation initiatives,
wildlife preservation, and environmental education.
Eco-Congregation’s newsletter features creation-care
activities at individual churches; opportunities
such as grants, conferences, and collaborative
projects; and faith-based reflections on environmental
issues. Eco-Congregation is delivered to churches
in Scotland and England by national agencies, with
some limited support available for churches in
Wales and Ireland. |
| Christianity |
United Kingdom
Eco-Congregation is available to churches across
Britain and Ireland, with full support for churches
in England and Scotland. Currently, funding precludes
supporting churches or sending resources outside
these islands, but all resources are freely available
in a downloadable format from the Eco-Congregation
website. |
| 2000–Present |
Started by Environmental
Campaigns (ENCAMS), a government-funded environmental
charity, and the Environmental Issues Network
of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland,
the Eco-Congregation
Program was officially launched in September
2000 at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Representatives from most of the major denominations
in the United
Kingdom (UK) attended the ceremony. The Program
began as a pilot project with twenty-two churches
from England,
Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Participating
churches experimented with different environmental
initiatives and tested three different information
packets supplied by the United Reformed Church,
the London and Southwark dioceses of the Church
of England, and Christian Ecology Link. Information
from this pilot study was used to develop the
current Program. Eco-Congregation was launched
in Scotland in March of 2001 at Dunblane Cathedral,
where denominational representatives committed
to the program by signing a pledge. Within two
years, 200 churches were involved in the program.
The first Eco-Congregation Award was given in
March of 2002. In March 2004 ENCAMS handed its share
of responsibility for Eco-Congregation back to
the Churches. As of July 2004, Eco-Congregation
is delivered in England, with some responsibility
for Wales, by the Arthur Rank Centre. In Scotland,
the Eco-Congregation is delivered by a partnership
between the Society, Religion, and Technology
Project of the Church of Scotland, and the environmental
awareness charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful (with
some repsonsibility for Ireland). In Scotland,
Eco-Congregation is supported financially by
the Scottish Executive's Sustainable Action Fund.
In England, Eco-congregation is supported financially
by the Methodist Church Relief and Development
fund. As of July 2004, thirty-seven churches
had received awards.
|
| “Eco-Congregation aims to encourage churches
to celebrate the gift of God’s creation and to
care for it in their life and mission through the
members’ personal lifestyles.” |
Churches Together in
Britain and Ireland
The Society, Religion, and Technology Project
of the Church of Scotland
Keep Scotland Beautiful
The Arthur Rank Centre
Action of Churches
Together in Scotland
Other organizations that promote or work
with the Eco-Congregation Program, but do not
share responsibility for it include:
A Rocha
UK
Christian
Ecology Link
The
John Ray Initiative |
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
Eco-Congregation, ENCAMS
England and Wales
Jo Rathbone
Eco-Congregation Co-ordinator
The Arthur Rank Centre
National Agricultural Centre
Stoneleigh Park
Warwickshire
CV8 2LZ
Ph: 0247.685.3061
Email: ecocongregation@rase.org.uk
Scotland and Ireland
Margaret Warnock
Eco-Congregation Scotland
Keep Scotland Beautiful
Islay House
Livilands Lane
Stirling, Scotland FK8 2BG
Ph: 0178.647.1333
Victoria Beale
Eco-Congregation Scotland
Society, Religion, and Techology Project
John Knox House
45 High Street
Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 1SR
Ph: 0131.556.2953
|
