Liz Jones (above) and her family have switched to colourful ‘Iris’, their electric car, for journeys to services in their local Bridge Group of parishes, and for shopping and work. Iris is plugged in to a normal electrical socket each night and, fully charged, will travel around 30 miles. To make the most of their energy saving the Jones’ use a green electricity supplier.
Ian Jones says of their venture: ‘As with lots of people a great many of our daily journeys are short distances, so having Iris as our second car or even sometimes using our bicycles, is no hardship.’
When All Saints Church, in Wokingham, planned a new community centre (for church and community use) it incorporated a number of energy saving initiatives in the design.
Parishioner Anne King was instrumental in the planning of the centre: She says: ‘We included extra insulation and a high efficiency boiler, and use of local hot water heaters in the toilets and kitchen reduce losses in hot water distribution around the building. We also have a heat recovery system on our ventilation units.
‘To reduce reliance on electric lighting our design made maximum use of daylight, and incorporated sensors to turn the toilet lights on and off.’
Anne says the church would like to have gone further and looked at solar collectors or photovoltaic cells and a grey water system, but were discouraged by the high capital cost at the time and difficulty of operation and maintenance without a professional facilities manager.
She concludes: ‘We constructed a building to last 100 years and allow for change of use inside with minimal work on the structure.
‘At the end of the day it is the appropriateness of the design for use of the building that gives the most sustainable solution, not just the energy saving and waste reduction measures you employ.’
All Saints Church recently received an Eco-congregation award for environmental work on its churchyard, with recognition of environmental measures incorporated in The Cornerstone.
The Eco-congregation scheme encourages church communities to make the link between their Christian faith and environmental concerns, to take practical action in the church and its grounds, and to have a positive impact on the wider community.
Another proud Eco-congregation is St Mary and St John Church on the Cowley Road in Oxford. Assessors praised the church’s project converting their derelict Victorian cemetary into a peaceful green space for the local community to enjoy. The assessors, from Oxford City Council, Oxford Brookes University and Sage, Oxford's Christian Environmental Group, commended the teambuilding involved and the many links developed within the wider community.
Also of interest was the church’s willingness to explore environmental conservation options as part of planned major building works. New, energy efficient heaters are being installed in the church and a woodchip heating system (using renewable resources) is being investigated for the smaller rooms.
Ruth Conway, the church’s project co-ordinator, told the DOOR: ‘While cost will always be an issue for already hard-pressed churches we want to communicate the urgency of the energy message - of conserving energy in every home, of switching to a green energy supplier, and seeking advice on grants available.
‘It is the future of our own families, and families across the world that we acting now for.’
Ruth says that St Mary and St John has been drawing attention to the Church’s place in environmental concerns with special services celebrating God’s creation and acknowledging our human responsibility for its eco-systems. It has also hosted LOAF (Locally produced, organically grown, Animal Friendly and Fairly Traded) lunches.
What you can do
Join Operation Noah (a project of the environmental issues network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, and Christian Ecology Link) at the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church in Oxford on Saturday 11 February for a packed programme on ‘Climate Change: What can Christians Do?’ Organisers promise challenging speakers, including Ian James, Dr Paula Clifford of Christian Aid, and George Marshall, co-executive director of the Climate Outreach Information Network.
Workshops will invite people to ‘Explore God’s love for His Universe’, ‘Share our visions of a better way of life’ and ‘...Bring about a revolution of the heart’, as well as calculating how much carbon dioxide we are personally responsible for each year and practical advice on making changes.
The day is open to everyone in the diocese (cost £4 or £2 to the unwaged. To register interest email info@sageoxford.org.uk, or call 01865 516507.
Operation Noah invites people to sign a ‘climate covenant’ calling on the Government to take action to cut carbon emissions, including negotiating an equitable global treaty, with a commitment to take action ourselves. Visit www.operationnoah.org for further details.
Ruth Conway is on the national executive committee of Operation Noah. She urges individuals and congregations to at least find out more about green energy suppliers and costs, and about grants available for energy conservation work at home and church.
She suggests calling Thames Valley Energy Centre, for example, which can provide information and advice on domestic energy conservation, such as loft insulation, and how to reduce the costs of running a home, including details of financial help for people on income support.
Thames Valley Energy can offer information and advice on suitable renewable energy sources for church and community buildings. Contact Ian Bacon on 01635 817420.
Local authorities can generally offer advice and provide information about energy conservation and suppliers.
Hagbourne School Head, Richard Jones (see 'Hagbourne School is National Environment Showcase'), told The DOOR that the local authorities had been very helpful and supportive of their eco-endeavours.
Ian James, Diocesan Environment Advisor, is happy to visit your church, PCC or deanery to talk about climate change and discuss any questions you might have about local energy-saving projects. To contact Ian, telephone 01344 451155 or email
Other useful websites include:
Information about solar power and how to reduce your impact on climate change from www.good-energy.co.uk which provides 100 per cent renewable electricity.
An impartial list of green energy sources is available from Green Energy UK on 0845 456 9550, or log on to www.greenelectricity.org
For details about becoming an eco-congregation look at www.eco-congregation@rase.org
or call 01865 516507.
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