Eco Church
Being the church on Epsom Common, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, we are very aware that God’s message of Good News in Jesus Christ is a message for all creation. ‘Living well’ means living well with, and for, our fellow creatures.
We believe that caring for creation is an essential and primary response to God’s call. We want to say ‘not on our watch’ and play our part in reducing carbon emissions, reducing loss of species and helping protect the planet for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities who are often drastically affected by extreme weather, as well as for future generations.
We are thrilled to have been selected as a National Demonstrator Church as part of the Church of England’s commitment to achieving Net Carbon Zero by 2030.
As an Eco Church, we have committed to living, as well as we can, in harmony with God’s creation. There are three levels of Eco Church Awards – in 2019, we achieved the Bronze Eco Church award, and in August 2022 we were delighted to receive our Silver Award. We are now working towards Gold.
Taking action today
So what practical actions are we taking to make a difference?
In our worship and teaching
Every autumn we celebrate Creationtide with five or six Sundays dedicated to highlighting the importance of caring for all God’s creation. Last autumn we incorporated a mini ‘TED’ talk into each Sunday morning service – we learnt about installing a water butt, creating a wormery and buying an electric car, as well as hearing from our local Repair Cafe.
Every summer we spend six weeks (weather permitting) worshipping outdoors. We have also created an outdoor chapel which regularly sees dog walkers, ramblers and joggers pausing for a reflective moment – and in the summer months we hold morning prayer here. We also hold occasional Forest Church services.
In our Intercessions we regularly pray for creation and our response to the climate crisis.
In our building management
We have been completing the Energy Footprint tool for several years and have established a small working group to specifically review our heating efficiency and make improvements – from changing energy suppliers and offsetting where possible, to the major undertaking of becoming a National Net Zero Carbon Demonstrator Church. Working towards Net Zero in a Victorian Grade 2 listed building is a huge undertaking – but we are pulling together as a community to meet the challenge .
In protecting and restoring nature
We take part in No Mow May and have set aside certain areas of the church grounds for wildlife and flowers. We have installed a swift nest box, a bee and insect drinking station, bird feeding stations and have a bug hotel built by the Scouts. From time to time, our young people take part in nature surveys of the church grounds. Beyond the church grounds, the curate’s house has a nature pond and the vicarage has bat boxes.
In joining with our wider community
We are always looking for ways to partner with local youth organisations and environmental groups – whether that means checking on the cows on the Common, monitoring species such as dormice and the Purple Emperor butterfly, or taking part in a local hedgehog trail. We hold annual bat watching evenings at the Stew Ponds.
The Christ Church Mothers’ Union recently collaborated with the Surrey Climate Commission to hold a Home Energy Use advice session.
We also supported the planting of 57 trees at the memorial wood in Langley Vale through the Woodland Trust, and last Christmas we supported local organisation Trees for Teens by promoting the sale of sustainable Christmas trees.
We’re part of Deanery Greenery – a working group of churches across Epsom Deanery, which also collaborates with other denominations and local eco groups.
If you know of a community initiative that Christ Church could work with, do get in touch – we are always open to new ideas to support the local environment.
In our lifestyles
From reducing paper use in the office to choosing locally-sourced food and Fairtrade items where possible, opting for environmentally friendly cleaning products and buying eco-friendly loo roll on subscription, we try to run the church in a way that will encourage our whole church family to make ethical choices whenever possible. This includes encouraging walking, cycling and lift sharing and providing recycling facilities.
All of us can have a positive impact on the environment – many small changes added together can make an enormous difference. Will you join us in making a difference?
Christ Church Eco Team
The Christ Church Eco Team helps to act as a catalyst and inspiration for the whole church community as we continue our Eco Church journey and work towards underpinning all that we do with care for God’s creation.
Meetings are very informal, open to everybody and happen roughly once a quarter. Your contribution might simply be a prayerful presence; you may have particular gifts and interests to offer; or you may just be interested in seeing how you can help out – in every case, you will be very welcome to join in.