Environmental Stewardship
Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
"The Church Committees across the Blyth Valley recognise our common
responsibility to care for creation. The Hebrew texts going back to
Genesis demand that God's people look after, air, water earth and all
creatures. Farmland specifically must be rested and the usual cycle of
seasons may only be expected if we live within our means. Sts Francis
and Brigid are among those who contribute to our tradition of wonder,
worship and care for the earth and her creatures. Anglicans around the
world have five marks of mission. The fifth of which is our restorative
work in this regard. The Diocese has called our own Alison Alder to be
their Environment Officer alongside a Net Zero paid post to support this
challenge. With others she aims to help each of our church councils
fulfil their responsibilities for its building(s) and churchyards or
God's Acre. One way of doing this is working towards Arocha's EcoChurch
Awards. St Peters, Spexhall, has a silver. We are committed to
working with Suffolk Wildlife Trust, our architects, the District
Councils and our communities to play as full a part as we may in
achieving the best possible outcomes under this agenda. Churchyard
working parties (Holton), Wild Church (Blyford) and Moth Breakfasts
(Huntingfield) all make their contributions." Revd Dominic Doble
Halesworth Climate Action Conference - A Great Success Sowing the Seed
“It was fantastic to see so many people - and particularly farmers - engaged in the important subject of food and land and to hear the conversations and debates going on over coffee breaks. Halesworth Town Council are delighted to be able to support the Climate Action Conference as part of the drive to reduce our carbon emissions locally.” Rachel Kellett, Councillor, Halesworth Town Council
Oak Class from Wenhaston Primary School help to secure the future of local wildlife
Following the second very successful Climate Action Conference in St Mary’s Church, Halesworth
at the end of September, village environment groups were delighted to work with the pupils of Oak
Class to explore ways of protecting and promoting wildlife locally...
Eco Churches
Eco Churches is an A Rocha UK Program that encourages churches to care for God's Creation. It provides a program to equip churches to address 5 key areas of church live; these are:
-
Worship and teaching
-
Buildings
-
Land
-
Community and global engagement
-
Lifestyle
Several of the Blyth Valley Churches are working towards or have an Eco Church Award. Find more about what that means for our churches below.
Eco Church Support
Tuesday 26 November
6.00pm - 7.00pm by Zoom
Join Robert Skelton (Ely Cathedral - Eco Church Gold Award), and Polly Eaton (A Rocha Eco Church - Eco Diocese Officer) for an informal session for people to chat about Eco Church Awards. Share success, obstacles and challenges you may be experiencing, seek support and support others. Please register to receive a Zoom link (this will be emailed out prior to the session).
Diocesan Environmental Officer
What does the Diocesan Environment Officer do?
I work closely with the Diocesan Net Zero Carbon Officer and our Eco-Church Support Group to enable church communities to work to protect God’s Creation, to include environmental issues as an integral part of worship and mission, and to promote climate justice. I am currently setting up a network of people across the diocese which will share good practice, identify common issues and offer support and encouragement to each other.
I am part of the Diocesan Environment Group which reports annually to the Bishops’ Council and Diocesan Synod about all that is happening in Suffolk churches. Demonstrating that living out our faith through caring for God’s creation links directly to the diocese’s “Growing in God” vision as it creates opportunities to deepen our faith, widen our influence in our communities, reach larger numbers of people and connect with children and young people.
Heveningham and Walpole Bees
Two of our Churchyards host bee hives. Both St Margaret's Church, Heveningham with Ubbeston and St Mary's Church Walpole. You can often hear the buzz of the bees and see the busy work of these wonderful animals.
