All Saints Parochial Church Council spent time at its September meeting discussing the climate emergency. The Council committed to renewing its efforts to reduce carbon emissions of the church activities and also to encourage all parishioners in the community to redouble efforts to reduce emissions and to minimise waste and pollution. Council members agreed that both personal efforts and collective and advocacy activities, pressing politicians and companies to take action, are all needed and are complementary rather than alternatives. It was noted that the Council could make representation to the central Church of England to increase its efforts. The Council agreed on the need for more discussion of the issues in the wider church community and on the importance of engaging the children, families and young people in lifestyle changes which will have a positive effect.
Currently, it was noted, there are some actions the Church has taken already to reduce its carbon emissions and to mitigate against climate change. The Church uses electricity from renewable sources; it manages its 4-acre churchyard in ways which encourage biodiversity including a no-pesticides policy; it observes the Season of Creation encouraging reflection, prayer, thought and action on environmental sustainability issues; and it invests a significant portion of its reserves in an ethical bank.
The Council committed itself to a fresh focus in 4 broad areas of action as follows:
– to do all that we can as trustees of this church to reduce further and significantly the carbon emissions of the plant and activities of All Saints Church
– in our worship, prayer, teaching and mission as a church to encourage creative and imaginative responses to the climate crisis
– to consider our own personal lifestyle choices, and urge others to encourage theirs, and do all that we can to reduce our own carbon emissions
– to advocate for urgent and effective responses to the climate crisis, challenging our own central church bodies, and supporting as far as we can those agencies such as Christian Aid which advocate on a wider canvas.
