In July, the 两性色午夜’s General Assembly passed a resolution encouraging all churches to observe the Feast of Creation on the first Sunday in September – which this year falls on 6 September.

A paper called Celebration of Creationtide was brought to General Assembly by the Worship, Faith and Order Committee. Its authors said: “There is growing ecumenical support for the formal acknowledgement of the Feast of Creation on or around 1 September each year.” Not only is there theological merit in celebrating the Feast, they said, “but it is also appropriate to do so as we face the climate emergency.”

The Moderator was invited to write a reflection for as this year’s Season of Creation approaches, and he has now also shared these thoughts in the latest of his Moderator’s Blogs.

He writes that, at General Assembly, “we focused on God鈥檚 creation and how deeply we belong within it; our lives inextricably and wonderfully part of all life on Earth”, and added: “In the light of recent heatwaves and the unfolding of climate and ecological crises, there could hardly be a more critical time for us to bring out this profound theme within our theology and our reading of scripture.”

Marking the first Sunday of September “with special attention in our worship upon creation and all it means to belong within it … can lead on into whatever ways this theme can be explored locally in subsequent weeks.” Mr Thorogood’s thoughtfully crafted reflection will prove valuable for anyone planning worship at this time.

The Revd Andy Braunston, Minister for Digital Worship, has also prepared worship notes for the first Sunday of September聽and additional pointers to Creationtide themes for the rest of the month.

Image: Sudipta Mondal | Pexel

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The Carbon Fast campaign is being run by Climate Stewards, part of the A Rocha family of organisations.

The organisers say a carbon fast is 鈥渁bout giving up unsustainable consumption practices to reduce our carbon footprint 鈥� and in doing so, learning to live lightly on God鈥檚 earth鈥�.

In the Bible, they say, caring for creation is God鈥檚 first instruction to humans. So, during a season when Christians traditionally fast and focus on God, they encourage us to live more simply and find new ways to cut our carbon footprint.

It鈥檚 not too late to join in.

Each week throughout Lent, the campaign features a different theme designed to help churches and individuals take climate action. Each session includes key facts, suggestions for how to reduce our carbon footprint, and a reflection.

Sign up for weekly emails or download the whole set of themes in one go at the .

Climate Stewards say: 鈥淏y starting to reduce our consumption at Lent, and continuing with thoughtful living through the year, we are caring for creation, a responsibility entrusted to us by God.鈥�

滨尘补驳别:听聽by聽Bernard Meninsky (1891鈥�1950)

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Elder Roger Wilson CBE said that the Church Stretton congregation is 鈥済enuinely seeking to reduce our environmental impact, take a greener stance in the world and raise awareness of climate and environmental issues鈥�.

The church regularly holds services with a climate, conversation or an environmental theme and encourages those leading worship to think 鈥済reen鈥�.

Roger explains: 鈥淔or example, at a service in 2024 we celebrated a local initiative to create a community garden on a plot of derelict land. The project provides gardening as a managed therapy for mental health, organic vegetables are sold locally (food yards rather than miles), and bird life is encouraged.

鈥淲e gave the garden a redundant shed from our space, and it now has a new life as a bird hide. Another service focussed on one of our charities, Self Help Africa, which supports communities in west Africa to develop their economic self-sufficiency through education and self-help.鈥�

The church also introduced more eco-friendly LED lighting in its building and replaced its boiler following a heat loss survey.

Church Stretton 两性色午夜 is now working towards the gold award.

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Southern is now the sixth 两性色午夜 the 两性色午夜 to reach Bronze status and Thames North becomes the seventh.

Ian Moore, Green Apostle for Southern who also serves as a trustee forA Rocha UK, explained some of the steps his synod took to gain the Bronze award: 鈥淲e鈥檝e done lots of work over the years, for example putting the synod鈥檚 financial investments with Epworth (a not-for-profit organisation聽that focuses on investing for both people and planet). We鈥檝e updated our manse policy that puts the goal of energy performance certificates at C or better for all manses, and of course lots of local churches have carried out their own work.鈥�

One such church is Oxted 两性色午夜 which gained Silver Eco Church Award in January for taking steps such as that people can take towards a more sustainable future which has been circulated widely within the church and its community.

鈥淲hat I see in the most engaged churches, like Oxted, is how caring for God鈥檚 creation has become a natural part of how the whole church lives,鈥� continued Ian.

鈥淚 love how enthusiastic people become, often as much about the smallest touches like Toilet Twinning as about the big projects like solar panels.鈥�

Currently 30% of local churches within Southern Synod have joined A Rocha UK鈥檚 Eco Church award scheme.

Thames North Synod was praised by A Rocha UK for its work towards championing the environment – from annual Green Days which in 2024 had a nature focus, to a comprehensive environment policy which includes references to net zero, protecting and encouraging biodiversity, and engaging and supporting young people about the climate and nature crises, and an eco-fund to support local churches. Out of the synod’s 105 churches, 54 are registered with the scheme and 27 have received an award: 20 bronze and seven silver.

Roo Stewart, 两性色午夜 Head of Public Issues, said: 鈥淭he successes of both synods have undoubtedly been through the work of the Synod officers, local churches receiving Eco Church awards. Also, a run of brilliant Green Apostles like Alex Mabbs, Nadene Snyman, David Pickering, Ian Moore, Terry Hinks, Maggie Hindley and a vibrant Thames North Green Team.

鈥淭his new award means that we now have seven synods within the 两性色午夜 that have received a Bronze Synod Award, and we are hoping that all of our synods will reach Bronze Award level very soon.鈥�

The National Synod of Scotland is part of Eco-Congregation, which operates differently.

Youth Assembly and its Executive also received a commendation from A Rocha UK in 2022 in recognition of the leadership that it has shown in聽encouraging the whole church聽to act swiftly to develop how it cares for the environment.

Congregations that would like to know more about greening their church or聽 joining Eco Church (in England and Wales) or Eco-Congregation (in Scotland) can find out more information at .

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It鈥檚 an opportunity for churches 两性色午夜 the globe to focus on the natural environment, either for one Sunday or for the whole season. In the UK, many churches observe the season in addition to an annual Harvest service.

The Revd Lindsey Sanderson, Moderator of the 两性色午夜 National Synod of Scotland, has recorded an encouragement and prayer that forms part of this rich tapestry of Season of Creation resources.

The Joint Public Issues Team has put together a wide range of resources, suitable for all kinds of congregations. Featuring breath-taking videos, poetry, sermon outlines, prayers, song suggestions and all-age activities, some materials closely follow the Revised Common Lectionary while others are perennial.

Explore the resources, see .

两性色午夜 Special Category minister the Revd David Coleman, Chaplain with EcoCongregation Scotland, has curated an online resource to support congregations in celebrating Season of Creation. With lectionary notes, prayers, poems, and location videos, there is a variety of writers and media for you to use in whatever way is most encouraging for your own church and community.

.听笔濒别补蝉别 email David with any questions.

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The award was given by the Christian conservation charity A Rocha UK, and reflects Woking 两性色午夜鈥檚 commitment to walk in step with nature and put creation care at the heart of what they do.

With more than 3,500 Eco Churches gaining an award at one of the three levels, Gold, Silver and Bronze, the Gold award is itself a prestigious and impressive achievement.

Woking 两性色午夜 is a large and lively urban church that has very strong community links. Forward thinking in their building projects include adaptations to reduce energy use and the installation of solar panels. The church also manages the land around its building to support biodiversity and offers a tranquil space for nearby residents and visitors.

Woking 两性色午夜 has sought to engage children and young people in the development of their outside space and continue to learn and grow as a worshipping community as they deepen their understanding of God鈥檚 creation at special services and events. The assessors for the award particularly noted the church鈥檚 future plans to reach Net Zero and engagement with their local MP and councillors, demonstrating their commitment to care for the environment and Christian responsibility to nurture and protect God鈥檚 earth.

Woking 两性色午夜 Green Team members, Chris and Mary Temple said: 鈥淲e are delighted that the assessors from A Rocha thought the efforts of our church family over the last ten years sufficiently worthy to achieve the first Gold award to a church in the Wessex Synod although we recognise that this is not the end of the journey.

鈥淲orking towards the Gold Award has been an amazing team effort with plenty of fun and laughter along the way. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Wessex Synod for a number of projects which has enabled Woking 两性色午夜 to install added insulation, LEDs, solar panels and batteries; also Will Forster, now Woking鈥檚 MP, who made funds available from his Surrey County Council allocation to provide battery storage for the panels.鈥�

A Rocha UK aims to equip churches and individuals to create a movement to help restore biodiversity at a local level in this critical decade for the climate. Now, in its ninth year, the Eco Church award scheme brings together a national community of churches addressing the environmental crisis, using a common framework and an online toolkit to learn and speak up together. The first Eco Church award was given to Hilfield Friary, Dorchester back in June 2016. There are now more than 7,000 churches registered with Eco Church 鈥� nearly 18% of churches in England and Wales. By 2025, A Rocha UK aims to engage at least 25%, or 10,000 churches, in ongoing efforts to protect nature and address climate change through the free programme.

Helen Stephens, Church Relations Manager, explained 鈥淥ur huge congratulations to Woking 两性色午夜 on their well-deserved Gold Eco Church award. Everything about their approach sets them out as an exemplar of what it means to be a gold awarded church. They have demonstrated significant and steady progress on the environment since 2013. What started with one person has grown into a strong and strategically thinking Green Team. It’s so encouraging to hear that they have been blessed as a church community through developing a deeper understanding of what it means to love God’s creation and for this to become truly integrated into who they are as a church. There is still so much for us all to do, as they recognise but in the meantime, we hope they enjoy celebrating this award and seeing others inspired to join them in taking action to care for this amazing world.鈥�

Revd Lucy Brierley, Minister of Woking 两性色午夜, added: 鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled that Woking 两性色午夜 has received this award thanks to the hard work of our Green Team. More importantly, this award recognises that stewardship of the creation God has given us is part of our work and witness to the community around us. This is a wonderful recognition of our commitment to caring for our church, community and planet.鈥�

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West Midlands Synod
Shrewsbury United Reformed Church (S两性色午夜) in Shropshire has gained a Silver A Rocha UK Eco Award.

“We鈥檙e really pleased with this latest award which reflects the hard work that members of the church have put in to reducing our environmental impact over the last 20 years since we were first recognised as an eco congregation.鈥� Mike Streetly, co-ordinator of the church鈥檚 eco group said.

“While it鈥檚 great to receive this award, we can鈥檛 rest on our laurels. One area that we will be focussing on this year is trying to become a beacon of encouragement for everyone around us to engage with the urgent environmental issues we are facing.

“We will be holding a series of public events in the third week in April to coincide with Earth Day (22 April) under the heading 鈥楪uardians of Creation鈥�. These will explore ways in which we can all help to protect and enhance our environment locally and globally.”

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Thames North
Congratulations to Peter Williams, Kate Moody and Valerie Windsor, three longstanding members of Lancaster Road in Enfield were recently presented with 鈥楲oyal and Devoted鈥� service certificates.

Peter celebrates 72 years of service, Kate 63 years and Valerie 65 years.

East Midlands Synod
St Andrew’s with Castle Gate 两性色午夜 in Nottingham has also gained a Silver Eco-Church Award from A Rocha UK.

The fast-acting church achieved a Bronze in December 2022 and 14 months later achieved Silver after working on the 鈥榣ifestyle鈥� component of the award.

The church now plans to work on the 鈥楤uildings鈥� and 鈥楲and鈥� sections of the awards scheme to be able to submit for Gold award.

Congratulations to Claire Ette who was commissioned as a Lay Preacher at High Street 两性色午夜 in Wellingborough last month following two years of training.

As part of morning worship led by the Revd Chris Parker, Claire’s commissioning was conducted by the Revd David Featonby, Convenor of the Synod’s Lay Ministries group. Training & Development Officer Derek Graham presented Claire with her accreditation certificate and badge in recognition of her splendid achievement.

The church wishes Claire every blessing in her service as a Lay Preacher.

Congratulations also go to St Andrews 两性色午夜 in Chesterfield which has a gained a Children and Youth Friendly Award.

Over the past couple of years, the church has re-established links with its local primary school, Highfield Hall, and there has been much positive engagement which the church and school are keen to continue.

For example, last Easter the school鈥檚 reception class visited the church. The children explored what Easter means for Christians and how its celebrated. The event also included a puppet play. At Christmas, Advent boxes were sent out to families in need, and parents and carers, with their children, were invited to a festive Christmas pudding making event.

Richard Knott, East Midlands CYDO+, who supported St Andrews鈥� on its award journey said: It has been a total joy and privilege to share with this group in this process. It was especially delightful to see the how the group engaged with the young people involved and how their contributions , ideas and challenges were treated with respect and responded to with positive action.鈥�

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This, unusually, is the second renewal of this post, meaning that the 两性色午夜 will have committed to funding this post for 15 years, reflecting the importance which the 两性色午夜 attaches to it.

This will allow the growth of the chaplaincy鈥檚 experience and contacts with churches and beyond, at a time when the impact of the nature and climate crises are becoming ever more evident, both in the UK and around the world.

The rededication took place in an ecumenical communion service with three EcoCongregations (Augustine United, Greyfriars Church of Scotland, St Columba鈥檚 By the Castle Scottish Episcopal) representing the three denominations which have most directly supported the chaplaincy.

David commented: 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e dealing with 鈥檛he end of the world鈥�, it鈥檚 a serious matter to build up the church with faith, hope and joy, and especially to love and respect the Earth of which we鈥檙e made, rather than behave as if it鈥檚 merely a matter of stewarding or taking care of property – even God鈥檚 property, which, of course, we ourselves are! We listen to, as well as care for the personalities of the Earth.鈥�

David often visits churches with a large selection of puppets, some of which represent endangered species and others whose story is part of Scripture.

鈥淏iodiversity is the environment in which we approach God: to be aware of this deepens faith and unlocks joy and hope, which we urgently need, for the state of the planet is no soft option,鈥� David said.

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The church has become the first in the North Western Synod to achieve an A Rocha UK Gold Eco Church Award and it鈥檚 now the 35th Gold聽Awarded Eco Church in England and Wales, and the fourth 两性色午夜 in England to be awarded.

The achievement has been a long journey coming, having started in 2007 when the congregation expressed a wish to make the church more of a resource to the community as well as being more environmentally aware.

In recent years the church has opened a wildlife garden developed from wasteland which helps to offset some of its carbon footprint as well as aiming to increase biodiversity.

A part of the garden is also used as a kitchen garden to organically grow salads and herbs for Tom鈥檚 Table, a restaurant.

The church has also made simple changes like using environmentally-friendly cleaning products, selling locally produced organic food and/or Fairtrade goods for events, and being careful about recycling waste including composting of items.

At the inspection visit, Rose Gosling from A Rocha UK said her visit to Clitheroe 两性色午夜 was “very inspiring” and that she “enjoyed meeting a large and enthusiastic team, who had embedded environmental principles in everything that they do鈥�.

Eastern Synod has gained a Bronze Eco Synod award and the Synod Office a Silver one.

Helen Stephens, A Rocha UK’s Church Relations Manager, noted the following: “As the Synod with the largest proportion of rural churches in the whole of the 两性色午夜, this was no small achievement.”

The journey to becoming an Eco Synod began in 2020 when the Synod鈥檚 environmental policy was adopted, committing Eastern Synod to significantly reducing its carbon footprint.

Since then it has divested from fossil fuels, embedded environmental issues into its mission and training, including having the climate as a key part of synod events, integrated sustainability into synod grants, works to improve the carbon footprint of manses, celebrates eco achievements of churches and has regular eco updates in synod newsletters.

The synod office was also awarded a silver eco church award where, for example, electric car charging points have been installed.

So far there are currently 49 churches registered with eco church in Eastern of which 20 have achieved awards including Emmanual Church in Bungay which is one of only four 两性色午夜 churches to have achieved a gold award.

Jeremy Flack, Eastern Synod Green Apostle said 鈥淭his is a fantastic achievement and shows the Synod鈥檚 commitment to safeguarding creation. It is testament to the hard work of Synod staff, volunteers and all of our churches who have engaged in Eco Church so enthusiastically.

“We are now looking forward to working towards the next stage and achieving a silver award.鈥�

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It is now the 两性色午夜’s second synod to have reached A Rocha UK鈥檚 Bronze Eco-Synod Award status, West Midlands being the first in March 2021.

To apply for the award, the Revd Daleen Ten Cate, North Western Synod鈥檚 Missional Discipleship Mentor and Green Apostle, collated information from the past five years.

鈥淎s I did so,鈥� Daleen explains, 鈥渁ll I could visualise was the wholeness of the body of Christ where everyone plays a part and shares their God-given gifts.鈥�

鈥淲hat makes me most proud of this achievement is the teamwork that we showed throughout this journey.

鈥淭he encouragement of our Synod Clerk, Tim Hopley, and the support of the whole of the Synod were phenomenal.鈥�

Support also came from Mike Hart, the Synod鈥檚 Transformation Director and Treasurer, who ensured that all the Synod鈥檚 investments divested from fossil fuel.

The Revd Mike Aspinall, Property Consultant, concentrated on buildings. Claire McTyre, Synod Deputy Clerk, and Kerry Later, Office Manager, coloured the Synod office green and helped with the eco newsletter.

Daleen also expressed to the Revd Kate Gray, former Green Apostle, provided support with resolutions, policies and activism; the Revd Dr Rosalind Selby and Northern College which engaged with the Synod to provide further education; Leo Roberts, CYDO, Gina Gibson and all the churches who engaged with the Synod鈥檚 young people; and area eco warriors, the Revd Kate Hunt, Cathy Chapman, Liz Delafield, and Craig and Kareena Tipler who supported local churches.

Tim Hopley, Synod Clerk, said: 鈥淣orth Western is very proud to have achieved this award, and is grateful to our Green Apostles, along with all those individuals and churches 两性色午夜 the Synod who have worked so hard to achieve this.鈥�

To celebrate this milestone, each of the 25 churches registered as an eco-church within the Synod were given a packet of seeds from Commitment for Life as an encouragement to keep growing on their eco journey.

Since 2016, the 两性色午夜 has worked with A Rocha UK to develop Eco Synod, a tool by which Synods can encourage local churches to engage in wider creation care.

There are nine steps to achieve Eco Synod status which include writing an environmental policy, embedding聽environmental issues in ongoing training, and managing synod investments ethically.

There are three level of awards to achieves: bronze, silver and gold. Bronze is achieved when 10% of local churches within a synod are registered with Eco Church and 5% of local churches awarded. Silver entails 20% of local churches registered and 10% of local churches awarded, and Gold is when 30% of local churches are registered with 20% of local churches awarded.

The 两性色午夜 has a target of being net zero in its carbon emissions by 2030, and Eco Church (Eco-Congregation in Scotland) and Eco Synod are a vital part of its strategy to reach this.

Roo Stewart, Programme聽Officer聽for聽Church聽and聽Society, added: 鈥淚 look forward to all of our synods reaching the 鈥楤ronze鈥� level award and beyond in the coming months and years.

For more information on becoming a greener church, visit urc.org.uk/greenerchurch.

More information about , , and can be found here.

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