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St John Vianney in West Green is the first parish in the Westminster diocese to receive the Livesimply award. The parish also ranks fifth in the UK to earn the CAFOD award, by putting into practice three principles: living simply, living in solidarity with people living in poverty and living sustainably with creation. The parish designed an action plan and a yearly calendar in order to cover specific livesimply activities. The calendar was their own choice to record and evaluate...
The Pope’s homily at his inaugural mass contains a significant encouragement to care for creation. An extract can be found below or you can read the whole text on the Vatican news website. “The vocation of being a “protector”, however, is not just something involving us Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone. It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as...
St Joseph’s Parish in Ansdell in Fylde has become one of the first parishes in the country to be awarded the Livesimply Parish Award, recognizing the ways in which it makes a difference in its local community and the world. The award reflects a commitment to live more simply and sustainably and to stand in solidarity with the world’s poor. Members of the parish were presented with a plaque commemorating their achievement during the Mass celebrating the Feast of Christ the King at the...
18months after launching the livesimply award scheme things are really beginning to happen. We have now made 4 awards to St John Bosco in Reading, St Stanislaus in Dulverton in Devon, St Bonaventure’s in Bristol and St Joseph’s in Lytham St Annes. 4 very different churches united in a determination to make a difference. Another 3 churches are in the pipeline waiting for their assessments so it is clear that this is something that churches are finding helpful. Listen to...
On Sunday 16 September, St John Bosco Church, Reading, became the first parish to be awarded the Livesimply parish award for their commitment to live more simply and sustainably and to stand in solidarity with the world’s poor. After four years’ work they have received a national prize, which recognises the ways a parish can make a difference in its community and the world. Across England and Wales, one more parish has been assessed, another two parishes are being assessed, and nine other parishes are working...
On Monday, 18 June, St John Bosco church started generating electricity. We have had installed 16 solar panels to the roof of the church which can generate upto 4kw of electricity – not as much as the panels to the Vatican, but a significant demonstration of our commitment to help save the planet. The church of course hopes to gain by off-setting the cost of its own energy usage and also contribute to the green economy and help to reduce...
Matahatata village doesn’t have piped water. It doesn’t have electricity. But one thing it does have is plenty of sun. When I visited Matahatata in Zambia last year it was under a typically blazing sun. I was greeted by Clara Nkete, who has lived in this village for 50 years and brought up her ten children here. She told me how she used to struggle to get water from the village’s single – now broken – borehole: “There were long...
‘The emergence of the ecological movement…was and continues to be a cry for fresh air which must not be ignored…the earth has a dignity of its own and…we must follow its directives…The importance of ecology is no longer disputed. We must listen to the language of nature and answer accordingly’. Pope Benedict XVI See http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20110922_reichstag-berlin_en.html for full text
Westminster parishes are working to encourage people to get active and walk to Church. In Potters Bar (Hertfordshire) and in West Green (North London) each parish has a ‘drive’ to reduce driving! In Potters Bar they are asking people to walk or to car share, as well as encouraging recycling. Fr Joe Ryan from West Green says “We encourage walking to church instead of driving. Then it would be possible to keep the church a little cooler because people...
At Ealing Abbey Parish, in West London, we have an Environmental Noticeboard as well as a Justice and Peace Board. We support a recycling clothes scheme which benefits the SVP. People bring in their clothing instead of throwing them out. We have organised bicycle racks at the church to encourage people to cycle instead of driving to mass. Our Newman Circle includes talks on the Environment. The parish is looking at introducing bees by the end of the year! We...
MESS-Marple, Mellor and Marple Bridge Energy Saving Strategy The MESS group meets monthly and includes members of the Local Authority and councillors. Their presence helps the group with local knowledge and resources, and lets us know what incentives the Council is working on. For example, the MESS group is seeking to get more allotments set up and the councillors help to put us in touch with appropriate people in the Town Hall. They can also point us in the right direction for seeking...
Northwood Parish in north west London completed a parish audit. They were surprised that car travel to church caused around 7 tonnes of C02 emissions each year. Of their 40 tonnes total CO2 emissions around 15 tonnes was from heating the church. The Northwood Parish Environmental group have lively discussions about how they can reduce these emissions and are looking at grants for replacing the church boiler and improving its controls. Story from Richard Hodkinson
St Francis Catholic Church, Long Eaton, Derbyshire A group of families and individuals has met since Autumn 2010 to find ways of changing their behaviour with each other’s support. They have followed the “eco-teams” approach of measuring energy and water use and rubbish produced so they can actually track their results. They have been so encouraged that they are now looking at other changes they can make and are about to start a Parish allotment!
In 2008 Pope Benedict XVI had 2,700 solar panels installed on the roof of the Paul VI auditorium – used in poor weather for his weekly audience with pilgrims. The photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity, generating enough power to light, heat or cool the 6,000-seat hall.
St Joseph’s Catholic High School in Newport, South Wales has won an eco-schools award for recycling, reducing waste and developing an eco-garden. Gunnersbury Catholic Boys’ School in London installed solar panels on the roof of its science block in 2005, generating energy to use in the school, with any surplus being sold to the National Grid. A display unit allows pupils and staff to monitor energy production and carbon dioxide savings.
18 July 2010 was Walk to Church Sunday in Woodley, Portsmouth. Parishioners from St John Boscoe Catholic parish invited other churches in the neighbourhood in leaving their cars at home. They made posters and asked people to send letters to the Prime Minister asking the government to support people’s efforts to reduce their carbon footprints.
St Oliver Plunkett’s Catholic Church in West Belfast fitted solar panels in 2005 with the help of grants from Northern Ireland Electricity and the Energy Saving Trust. It has been producing 4,000 units of electricity for lighting and heating ever since. “Churches need to be giving an example of practical ways of caring for God’s world,” said parish priest Fr Martin Magill.
Our Lady Help of Christians in Kentish Town, north London, have a small but well-motivated group adressing environmental issues. They meet once a month for prayers, reflection and discussion. In the parish there are two noticeboards with green advice that we update as often as possible. They also have a collection point for recycling batteries. During Lent £1,300 was raised for a well in Turkana, Kenya. Around the Feast of St Francis they try to organise larger events. In 2008 they held a...