Tavistock Methodist

'Spiritual' activities:

• Starting point – activities in place before beginning the Eco-congregation process

  • Open–air worship, often together with churches of other denominations especially at Easter and Pentecost e.g. Easter Morning Sunrise service on moorland overlooking the town.
  • Prayers stressing need for stewardship of the planet during regular worship services.
  • Coverage of the topic in children and young peoples’ material 
  • Open air events for the Church family e.g. picnics on the moor following special services.
  • In March 2007 the church hosted an Energy Awareness Show proposed and organised by a church member

• More Recent activities and action.

  • Summer 2007 Waste-Savers Holiday Club for 5 to 11 year olds and Club for 11 to 16 during which the young people used recycled materials, reclaimed an overgrown area of church garden and presented the theme in a family service.
  • Autumn 2007 Harvest Songs of Praise stressed God’s bounty and thanked Him for the farmers and growers in the South West. The congregation were asked to use produce grown or sourced locally for the Harvest Supper that followed.
  • Winter 2008 One of the worship leaders began to compile a list of worship songs with the theme of God’s creation for use in services.(ongoing) 
  • Lent 2008     Lent Challenge. Households challenged to do one thing individually and one thing as a group to benefit the environment.
  • Summer 2008
    • Material for house-groups is being collected and placed in the Church Library
    •  Articles and Book reviews contributed to the local Methodist Circuit magazine.
    • Series of Sunday afternoon walks organised by a rota of church members into the local countryside and moorland
  • Autumn 2008  Harvest Festival celebration on similar lines to 2007 including Harvest supper locally sourced where possible.

Practical activities:

• Use of Fair Trade Tea and Coffee since 1997(Fair Trade award)

• New caretaker (appointed 2007) has introduced Ecover cleaning products, biodegradable rubbish sacks and more efficient recycling on site.

• Introduction of recycled paper in Office for all duplicating and printing.

• Property Committee includes environmental specifications in planning for improvements and new extension.

• Soundproofing fitted to Upper Hall in summer 2008 also has an element of insulation.

• Heating cycle adjusted to reduce waste heat

• Persistent leak on kitchen boiler fixed after 12 years dripping!

• Raised flower beds beside disabled access ramp maintained to provide insect friendly environment throughout the year.

• Wild life garden at rear of church maintained periodically by young people.

• Consolidating meetings on the premises to the same days and times to reduce heating costs. 

Reaching out:

• In March 2007 the church hosted a major Energy Awareness Fair, a day long event in which a dozen local and national firms in all branches of alternative energy sources exhibited their wares. It included a seminar with speakers (who included a former member of the church’s Youth group now an energy consultant) and a question and answer session hosted by the local MP Geoffrey Cox. Over 500 people passed through the doors. This was initiated and organised by a member of our church inspired by a similar event he had attended in North Devon.
• A part-time minister at the church opened a fair trade shop ‘Revolution’ in Tavistock in 2006. This shop supplies fair trade and ethical goods to churches and schools as well as to the general public.
• Donation to A Rocha in 2007/8 as part of the Church’s tithe on its own income.
• 2 members helped run the MWM national conference on the theme ‘The Earth is the Lord’s’
• 3 church members joined an ecumenical group from Tavistock which attended ‘Hope Rising’, a climate change conference at Exeter Cathedral October 2007
• Member led an Anglican Study evening in Nov 2007 
• Member attended a Devon wide training day for groups involved in climate change and used it to encourage secular groups to link with local churches.
• An ecumenical group attended the  local MPs surgery to lobby him about the Climate bill in April 2008 
• Many of the activities have been featured in the local press. 
• The Sustrans challenge ‘Change your World’ promoted in notices.