Hemingby church receives eco award

Just making small changes, such as swapping cleaning products, have made a big difference and led to a new award for a village church.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Jan 2022, 08:34 BST
Hemingby church committee members Colin Thorton, David Dean and Alison Fairchild EMN-220113-113051001Hemingby church committee members Colin Thorton, David Dean and Alison Fairchild EMN-220113-113051001
Hemingby church committee members Colin Thorton, David Dean and Alison Fairchild EMN-220113-113051001

Hemingby St Margaret’s Church has achieved the Bronze Award in the Eco Church scheme, run by the Christian group A Rocha to show how each church can do its bit to help save our planet.

To become an eco church, the committee made its way through a list of questions to examine how eco-friendly the church is, from using recycled paper when photocopying, to rewilding parts of the churchyard.

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Church committee secretary, Alison Fairchild, said: “It was just little changes we made to the way we work that made a difference, for example using environmentally-friendly cleaning product, ordering Fairtrade tea and coffee, changing the materials our flower arrangers use so there’s no more plastic to having speakers in to come and talk about being eco-friendly.

“Our time has come where people are concerned about the planet and we need to do something. Most church congregations are of the older population so it’s just about how to make small, gentle changes to make a difference.

“It’s been a great eye-opener and we are continuing to work through what we need to change or adapt.

“We are well on our way to the silver award - and then there’s gold.”

To find out how your church can become an Eco Church, visit the A Rocha website at https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/

Related topics:Fairtrade