Caring for God’s earth is seen by many Christians as an important part of mission and action. One of the Diocese of Oxford’s main priorities is responding to the climate crisis and the broader environmental crises facing our planet. We at All Saints recognise that we have a role to play in this.
Read our Climate Emergency Statement
In November 2024, we received a Silver EcoChurch award from A Rocha UK. The EcoChurch scheme provides a framework for churches and covers five key areas of church life. This followed on from the bronze award we received in August 2022.
For more information on EcoChurch please go to https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk.
Here are some of the things we’ve been doing.
Worship and teaching
- We celebrate God’s creation through worship, teaching, and prayer throughout the year
- Creationtide, the period in the annual church calendar, from 1st September to 4th October, is dedicated to God as Creator and Sustainer of all life. This is a key focus for activity around sustainability in the church.
- We’ve shown and discussed films with an environmental theme and run a course on what the Bible has to say about our environment.
Management of Church buildings
- When renovating the Church floor, we re-used tiles, where possible, and installed a recycled foam glass sub-base
- We use renewable energy and have LED lights, steps to reduce our carbon emissions
Management of Church Land
- We have started work on our 5 year plan for the churchyard, which will create an environment where nature will thrive and also expose some overgrown gravestones
- We have found over 100 species of flowers, fruit and berries in the churchyard and gardens and at least 20 different fungi
- Part of the churchyard is given over to rewilding
Community and Global Engagement
- In 2023 we established a partnership with the Ripple Effect charity. The charity works to fight poverty and build sustainable livelihoods in eastern Africa through giving smallholder farmers skills to grow enough food to feed their families and provide an income. In turn, these farmers share their knowledge with others – hence the ‘ripple effect’. Collections from our Harvest festival auction and our Lent soups have contributed to this charity.
- We have also raised money for Water Aid and a ‘toilet twinning’ charity. All our toilets are twinned with a community in South Sudan
- We are a Fairtrade Church, serving Fairtrade tea and coffee in church and promoting the use of Fairtrade products more widely
- We engage with our Church schools on their environmental agendas
Lifestyle
- Our blister pack and battery recycling are popular, and we can arrange for the recycling of redundant disability aids
- In our newsletter, we provide hints and tips for everyone to reduce their environmental impact
- We organise walks focusing on enjoying nature from time to time