Stratford Methodist Church - Second Award

'Spiritual' activities: 

(1)  Regular green corner columns on environmental issues in the monthly church magazine and displays on the green notice board.

(2)  Two annual Sunday services on environmental topics. On Environment Sunday 3 June 2007 our service included a visit from ‘Mrs Litterbug’ who tipped litter down the aisle. People were then invited to pick it up & post it in the recycling box, placed in the church. Everyone was given a fridge magnet which reminded us to Recycle, Reduce & Reuse. Our Environment Sunday Service on 11 May 2008 linked with the Eco-Fair on Saturday 10 May. Canon Kenyon Wright the keynote speaker at the Eco-Fair took part in the Sunday Service. Copies of his talk ‘The Future – Grim or Green’ were distributed to the congregation. Our Harvest Sunday Service 2008 was led by a local farmer. Children were asked to come dressed as a vegetable, fruit or a farm animal. On Sunday 19 October 2008 the Switch It Off campaign organised by WCC Climate Change Partnership was advertised & postcards from the Micah Challenge were made available for people to sign & post. The link was made between our actions to save energy being an attempt to help the poor countries who are being hit hardest by climate change.

(3)  Our Family Networker has introduced green issues in Wesley baby & toddlers Group. The Wesley Group now use Fairtrade products for refreshments. On the Saturday of our Environment Weekend in June 2007 the group made musical instruments from yoghurt pots & small plastic bottles. Each child coloured an owl whose beak is the light switch when you place it over one & says ‘Tweak my beak’ as a reminder to switch off when leaving the room. They decorated & labelled a huge cardboard box with holes cut in it for posting recyclables, eg plastics 1 & 2, paper & plastic bags. ‘Mrs Litterbug’ arrived with a bag full of litter which she tipped onto the floor & talked about how we could recycle or re-use it. It was then posted into the recycling box. At Harvest Weekend 2007 a local farmer (also a local preacher) and an allotment gardener talked to the children about farming and growing your own vegetables. At the Saturday Family workshop organised for Harvest Weekend 2008 a variety of pulses were grown in clear yoghurt pots & blotting paper, some plant cuttings were planted & there was a nature table showing different types of seeds. A pumpkin was on display & cut through. A large scarecrow & some sunflowers were made for the Church Harvest Festival Display. All these workshops finish in church with appropriate prayers, songs & dedication of the children’s work before they take it home.

(4)  On May 3-4 our circuit organised a Reach Across Event held in our premises. We displayed our Eco-Congregation activities to demonstrate to our fellow Methodists the link between our Christian Faith and environmental concerns.(5)  At the beginning of 2007 2 couples organised 6 viewings of the DVD of ‘Inconvenient Truth’ in their homes to which about 36 people were invited. 

There has been a growing appreciation in our congregation of the importance for Christians to live a greener lifestyle. To quote from one church member following the Eco-Fair – “This is exactly what the Church should be doing!”

Practical activities:

(1)  Recycling centre for plastic bottles, tin foil, ink cartridge and old stamps. It has been well used by our members as well as those using the premises during the week. 9 people took responsibility to take the plastic bottles & tin foil to the tip on a monthly rota basis. Since our local council is now collecting plastic bottles, glass, tin cans & cardboard we have closed the recycling centre. Printer cartridges are still being collected for Christian Aid & used stamps for Leprosy Mission.

(2)  Replacement of low energy light bulbs has been completed in the premises by a team of 3. Lampshades have been put up by 2 members to enhance the appropriate rooms.

(3)  A member has been taking regular readings from our gas & electricity meters so we have been able to monitor our energy usage. The electricity usage has decreased by 20% in 2007. All timers for the heating controls in the premises have been replaced by digital programmeable models. Gas consumption in 2007 was 20% down from the previous year, a saving of carbon emission of 8 tonnes. A monitoring system and assessment procedure are firmly established. Notices have been put up to remind users of the premises to switch off lights & turn down heating on leaving.

(4)  We have initiated an Eco-Circuit project for the Stratford and Evesham Circuit of the Methodist Church. A Circuit Resources Energy Audit Team of 3 people have carried out energy audits for all 8 church premises and 3 manses. Recommendations from the team have been circulated. Further monitoring of the progress in energy saving in the Circuit will be carried out by the Audit Team.

(5)  We have initiated joint meetings with Evesham EcoCongregation to support the EcoCircuit project. (about 10 people.)

(6)  Green kitchen waste is still being composted & used in the church garden.

(7)  A Garden group of 6 people maintains the garden using drought resistant plants & the corner by the kitchen has been dug over, a permeable membrane put over & bark chippings laid on top. The garden won 2nd prize in the Religious Grounds section of Stratford-in-Bloom competition in 2006 & 2007.

Reaching out:

(1)  To celebrate gaining our 1st Eco-Congregation Award in July 2006 we held a LOAF supper for 60 people. Rev Jennifer Potter was the speaker & the event attracted non-church-goers. Rev Potter also led the Sunday morning service.

(2)  We took the initiative through SCAN (Stratford Climate Action Network) of organising Stratford Eco-Fair on 10 May 2008. Our church partly sponsored the event by agreeing to hold it in our premises charge-free & church members helped with the refreshments. The council came to explain their new recycling scheme starting August 2008 which attracted a large number of local residents. The Mayor of Stratford-upon-Avon opened the event & there were 23 stalls exhibiting products such as ‘real nappies’, renewable energy & recycled wooden items from the Loft Workshop. 60 people came to the keynote lecture by Canon Kenyon Wright, 30 40 to each of the 2 workshops on ‘The effects of Climate Change on Bangladesh’ & ‘Transition Town’. Representatives from Christian Aid, Oxfam & Practical Action took part in the event. The event was advertised on our Town & District Council websites & received regular publicity in the Stratford Herald, thanks to our personal contact with a young reporter who is very concerned about environmental issues. 2 members are on the SCAN committee .  

(3)  We have been the case study for the Warwickshire Climate Change Partnership & enjoy a close working relationship with them. Their officer, Gillian Squires, gave a lot of advice for the Eco-Fair & her husband, Ian, dressed as a Green Shakespeare & went round the town encouraging people to attend the Eco-Fair. 

(4)  We have put up a display of our Eco-Congregation achievements on several occasions. The first was on 26 April 2008 when our church is open for Fair-Trade refreshments for people attending the Shakespeare Birthday Parade, the Reach Across (a Circuit event), at the Eco-Fair & at the Friends of the Church in China conference, whose theme was ‘Changing Environments.’ This was held at Ushaw College, Durham & people from all over the country attended. There was a workshop on ‘The challenge for UK Christians’ & our display was used to promote the Eco-Congregation programme.

(5)  2 members are on the steering group for Stratford Fairtrade Town. The status was awarded in September 2007 & the group is working on improving the town’s awareness of Fair-Trade products & liaising with Alcester people to help them gain Fair-Trade town status. A Fairtrade stall is held fortnightly in the church and on various social occasions, including the Eco-Fair, which was World Fair Trade Day .

(6)  2 members attended the national UNA-UK conference on Climate Change on 7 June 2008 in Birmingham & reported the event in the church magazine.

(7)  2 church members run the Overseas Sponsorship scheme to which 36 people subscribe. This helps sponsor 8 children through Action Aid & 6 grandparents through Age Concern. Our church has a Christian Aid Co-ordinator who organises the collections for Christian Aid Week.

(8)  We have organised petitions about the use of plastic bags & sent letters to our MP calling for a stronger Climate Change Bill & to the Prime Minister to protest about the building of the new coal-fired plant at Kingsnorth.

(9) Our minister, Rev Bob Powell, is involved in a consultation group for the development of the proposed Eco-Town at Long Marston.