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- Module 01 - Church Check-up
- Module 02 - Greening worship
- Module 03 - Theology and Environment
- Module 04 - Children and Creation Care
- Module 05 - Young People and Environmental issues
- Module 06 - Resources for small groups
- Module 07 - Greening the church building
- Module 08 - Greening church spending
- Module 09 - Churchyard conservation
- Module 10 - Lifestyle Issues
- Module 11 - Community Matters
- Module 12 - Global neighbours
- Module 13 - Manage your carbon footprint
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St John the Evangelist, Hurst Green
'Spiritual' activities:
- Creation Sunday '07 led by the children who wrote prayers and performed 'Percy Pot Shot' highlighting species extinction and man's destruction of God's World
- Harvest '07 developed into a whole weekend of activity: LOAF Harvest Supper with Christian Aid speakers; display about the local farming community in the church, with teas, and a Harvest service.
- New Year '08 - 3 family services on environmental themes with different church groups being responsible for researching and presenting each topic (wildlife conservation, fairtrade, LOAF with lunch after of homemade soup, bread and cakes). These services has helped to raise the awareness in the wider congregation, and been a major step forward in 'EarthCare' being accepted as central to our mission.
Practical activities:
- Kidzone activity has included:
- making a bird feeding area in the church yard
- planting a hedge in the churchyard with the local Cub group
- having an 'Art Attack' morning session to paint tow screens with the seven days of creation, for display in church
- the is now an annual 'tidy-up' in the church yard in November called 'Worship in Wellies' The congregation are invited to come to church in wellies, with a packed lunch, and stay on after the service to work in the churchyard. All ages get involved, cutting back hedges, planting bulbs etc
- there is now a management plan for both the old and 'new' church yards, with particular areas not mown to encourage diverse wildlife. A new seat has been commissioned for the 'new' churchyard. One area, to the east of the church, has been designated as a 'spiritual garden', and we plan to develop this idea
- church yard is managed more sympathetically for wildlife, which is noticed by passers-by
- church and church hall both converted to renewable electricity supplier
- Eco-friendly cleaning products are used in the church and hall
- fairly traded products used
- PCC decisions are made with the environment in mind
- congregation encouraged to reduce, reuse, recycle.
Reaching out:
- many of the Kidzone activities include children from the local village school and the neighbouring churches, events regularly attract over 20 children eg fish counting on the River Ribble, a talk on badgers, a trip to a wildfowl centre (where they helped plant a wildflower meadow), evening session on nests, taking part in the RSPB Birdwatch.
- Harvest weekend '07 on the farming history of the village and celbration of crafts attracted and involved many people in the community (at a time when the farming industry was particularly struggling).
- the paper skip sited on the village hall car park is administered by St John's: it has recycled over 6 tones of paper, and raised funds for church and village funds.
- we distributed energy saving light bulbs at a village event
- Christmas fair in '07 was promoted as a Green Christmas Fair with the emphasis on fresh garden greenery, and home produce with the raffle 'baskets' contining organic and fair trade products.
- pub quiz organised during Christian Aid week
- shortlisted for the Green Church Awards (Church Times) in November '07
