A re-ordering of Newcastle Cathedral provided the opportunity to replace the building's inefficient lighting and heating systems.
For the former, this meant replacing the existing lightbulbs with more efficient LED alternatives. Upgrading the heating required more work, with the provision of underfloor heating connected to air-source heat pumps, with back up gas boilers for the coldest days.
These changes were part of a major change programme to create a sense of 'radical welcome' at the cathedral.
This page contains a short format video, a written case study, two longer videos and a section with faith-based discussion questions.
Read the Case Study below.
What was done?
Why we acted
Discussion Questions for "Why we acted"
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
In this video, people are sharing the motivation which led them to get involved with this environmental project. They share lots of ideas, prayers and hopes which you might like to discuss. Here are a few questions to help you think, but you might like to start your discussions by talking about the parts of the video that stood out most to you. This video is part of a set of videos, and there are some common themes across them all, particularly around ‘stewardship’ and caring for creation, and around justice for people in poor countries or for future generations. So other videos might include some interesting questions which relate to this video too. Feel free to explore them all!
- Geoff takes a very familiar verse and points out that God gave Jesus for the benefit of the world, not just people. What might it look like for the church to be Good News to the whole cosmos? What do you think the consequences are when we separate parts of our lives into ‘God’s’ and ‘not God’s’ (environmentally and in other areas)?
- Lindy talks about the energy to do something about climate change coming from young people. What do you think young people would say about what your church is doing about climate change?
- Kate says we all need to take responsibility to not make a mess of the world, not just leave it to others to sort out. Is there a part of the world which are you responsible for that you could leave in a better state for future generations?