Care for creation is embodied in all five marks of mission, and Eco Church is an ideal way integrate action for God’s earth into your church. Eco Church is an ecumenical programme run by A Rocha UK to equip churches to care for creation. Eco Church provides a framework to support your church and its leadership to take practical action on caring for God’s earth, through the Eco Church survey.
The reach of Eco Church continues to spread, and there is now a community of over 6,000 Church of England churches registered and 3,2559 churches with Eco Church awards. There are currently 77 Church of England churches with the prestigious gold Eco Church award. You can search for your church on the Eco Church map, or see who’s nearby!
By completing an online survey, churches can be considered for an Eco Church Award at either Bronze, Silver, or Gold level. The Eco Church survey is a self-assessment tool to help us respond faithfully to the climate and nature crises. Through engagement with Eco Church, churches are able to connect environmental issues with their Christian faith and mission, and respond with practical action. The Eco Church survey is a free online award scheme encompassing all areas of church life through the following five categories:
- Worship and teaching
- Buildings and energy
- Land and nature
- Community and global engagement
- Lifestyle
Want your church to become an Eco Church?
The Survey
The survey helps you assess your church’s progress and guide you to take further action as you work towards a bronze, silver or gold Eco Church award. To get started, simply register your church on the online platform and start a survey! Once you’ve started a survey, you can log in any time, and update your survey to see your progress. You earn points based on how you care for God’s earth and when you earn enough points you will achieve a bronze, silver or gold award.
You can view the survey questions and read an overview of each of the five categories on the Eco church website. This page also includes printer friendly versions of the survey. There are loads of Eco Church resources to help you as you seek to embed care for creation within your worshiping community.
Try not to be daunted by the prospect of ‘doing’ Eco Church, the first step is to get started - you may be surprised how much you are already doing! The questions in each category will act as a prompt to take further steps. Remember, the overall objective is to use the Eco Church survey and resources to help your church engage with caring for the earth as a key part of our Christian faith. Getting started with Eco Church offers some helpful tips to consider as you begin your Eco Church journey.
Going for Gold
Applying for a gold award involves some extra steps beyond the Eco Church survey. You can read more about what’s involved in Applying for a Gold Eco Church Award.
