Our Stories

Among other steps that Christ Church Toxteth Park are taking to preserve and protect the natural environment around them, they have started calculating their carbon footprint for each year and looking at ways to offset their emissions through carbon reduction policies. In 2019, they did this by planting trees in the North West of England through the Tree Appeal.

St James's Piccadilly is one of England's first Gold Eco Churches.  Their slideshow illustrates the journey to this prestigious award, including how they cut their energy use and offset the residue.

Browse their online slideshow here.

This grade 1 listed rural church has fully electric heating; far-infra-red radiant panel heaters on the nave roof and aisle ceilings, and electric pew heaters in the chancel. Read the CCB Case Study here.

This parish church have achieved net zero carbon by updating their heating with a modern electric system, switching to 100% renewables, and then calculating their travel emissions and offsetting them. Click here to see their parish newsletter for further details.

St Luke's have developed their grounds and made them accessible to the public via the Quiet Garden Movement, offering space for prayer, reflection, and rest. The gardens have been cultivated as an expression of caring for God's creation with an effort made to use recycled or repurposed materials, while also creating an environment attractive to local wildlife.

In addition, St Luke's have installed three bee hives, managed by the local community, and the honey produced is sold locally with proceeds supporting A Rocha Kenya. You can read more about their beekeeping here.

At the beginning of 2019, Bishop Paul called for the Diocese of Liverpool to work together to achieve the Gold Eco Diocese Award. He appointed Faiths4Change to lead this challenge who coordinated a team of lay, clergy and Merseyside Christian Aid representatives to support this urgent climate change work.

They initially had just one Eco Church; now, 52 of their churches have registered as Eco Churches. Liverpool Cathedral has also been awarded Bronze Eco Church status. 

Bishop Paul said, “It’s been a massive achievement to get the Eco Bronze diocese award. To go from one church at the beginning of the year has been a tremendous effort and I thank all involved in bringing this about. For the churches who have embraced this, all staff at St James House and my colleagues here at the Lodge the impact has been huge.

“But it is not enough. This is not about getting a plaque or a badge. As we are daily reminded in the news the stewardship of this planet is vital and our responsibility as Christians to step up and lead in this challenge is immense.

“God gave us this world as a gift and we must secure His creation for all. So we will keep working at this in 2020, pushing to get the silver award also that we can show true leadership on the environment and make a bigger difference in the world.”

Find out more on the Diocese of Liverpool's website.

Christ Church East Greenwich were awarded a Silver Eco Church award in 2019. In seeking to affirm the fifth mark of mission, they had a month's teaching and worship series centred on the environment, in conjunction with harvest. They also had a speaker from A Rocha visit, and have cultivated a 'peace garden' complete with bug hotels, composting, and water recycling. Read more about their Eco Church efforts on their website.

Cathedral, Isle of Man, achieved their Silver Eco Church award by doing things such as: using low energy light bulbs; carefully consider their use of paper; composting and recycling; using apples from their trees at a weekly community lunch; and installing a stumpery and bug hotel for insects.

The Cathedral is keen to work towards a Gold award, and they join several other churches on the Isle of Man that have also acquired Eco Church status. Find out more about their Eco Church journey here.

St Helen's have introduced a number of creative initiatives at their church to take them from Bronze to Gold status, including offering a habitat to hedgehogs in their churchyard, running plastic awareness sessions, and holding a 'sea service' on the beach with storytelling, fried fish and bread, and a sea baptism. They have also restored a disused labyrinth in the churchyard, now used as a reflective space for prayer and contemplation. Find out about everything else they've done by visiting their website.

Churches, individual land-owners and schools are encouraged to create a sign and set it in the vicinity of: a churchyard bench, a space overlooking a stream, near a footpath or where there is a view or a place to sit — to remind people of God’s peace and presence and invite them to pray.

Bishop Karen reminds us that, "Many people have been using our churchyards and open spaces to say their own prayers during this time of pandemic and communities have created in some places symbolic reminders of hope and peace”. Read more about the initiative here.

In 2017, St Edward's set about improving their churchyard to make it a sanctuary for those from the local community, who could themselves be involved in its renovation. They were keen to improve the churchyard's biodiversity, setting the following goals as part of the project:

• Protecting now-flowing plans, such as lichens and mosses growing on walls and memorials.
• Improving the diversity of native trees and shrubs.
• Regulating the grass mowing regime in specified areas to allow some of the dormant wildflowers to flower and seed.
• Creating a biblical herb garden containing examples of herbs and plants mentioned in the Bible.
• Establishing bird nesting boxes and bat roosting boxes.

By improving their churchyard's biodiversity, St Edward's were also able to achieve a Silver Eco Church award. Learn more about their churchyard on their website.

St Luke's have developed their grounds and made them accessible to the public via the Quiet Garden Movement, offering space for prayer, reflection, and rest. The gardens have been cultivated as an expression of caring for God's creation with an effort made to use recycled or repurposed materials, while also creating an environment attractive to local wildlife.

In addition, St Luke's have installed three bee hives, managed by the local community, and the honey produced is sold locally with proceeds supporting A Rocha Kenya. You can read more about their beekeeping here.

Through a partnership between Faiths4Change and the local community, St Michael's was able to transform its overgrown grounds into a haven for wildlife and allotment for organically grown food. The garden then shares this food with a local foodbank, donating over 40kg of produce so far. You can find out more by visiting St Michael's website here, as well as the garden's page on Faiths4Change.