The Church of Christ the Cornerstone

Baptist Union / Church of England / Methodist Church / Roman Catholic Church / United Reformed Church

Eco Church

What’s happening to the climate?

The year 2024 was the warmest year on record globally and was the eleventh year in succession that equalled or exceeded 1.0°C above the pre-industrial average period (1850–1900) (Meteorological Office). Climate change is already impacting the UK, as elsewhere in the world, with rising sea levels, more frequent and intense extreme weather events (like heatwaves and floods), and changes in rainfall patterns, leading to water shortages and impacting agriculture, ecosystems, and human health. Climate change has been caused by human activities, in particular the widespread use of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – in homes, factories and transport systems. BBC. Sir David Attenborough explained the emergency clearly from his point of view in his address to the world’s leaders at COP26.

What the Bible says about our responsibility to the Earth

As Christians we’re entrusted by God to be good stewards to care for creation. This is clearly spelled out in The Message version of Genesis 1: 26, where it says: God spoke: ‘Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature, So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.’ There is a similar expectation expressed in 2 Corinthians 5, where we are called to be Christ’s ambassadors bringing hope for the world, including all of creation.

For the Church of England, caring for creation is central to the Fifth Mark of Mission, by which Christians are encouraged: ‘To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.’ Likewise, Methodists encourage Christians to ‘Flourish’ as one of the twelve practices of the Methodist Way of Life, which means: ‘We care for creation and all God’s gifts: The universe is an expression of God’s loving, creative nature.’

Christian leaders are challenging Christians to take action to tackle climate change. ‘To hurt the Earth is a sin,’ says Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis has stated: ‘we must respond to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor’. Former Archbishop Justin Welby said, ‘reducing the causes of climate change is essential to the life of faith. It is a way to love our neighbour and to steward the gift of creation.’ The World Council of Churches says: ‘It’s time for climate justice. When creation is threatened, churches and Christians are called to speak out and act as an expression of their commitment to life, justice and love.’

Eco Church

Eco Church is a free, online, reward scheme designed to equip churches to work towards environmentally friendly practices. The Eco Church scheme has a ‘Framework for Action’ to demonstrate that the Church is Good news for God’s Earth. Eco Church is supported by the Church of England, Methodist and URC churches, Christian Aid & Tearfund, to help them achieve their net zero carbon targets. The Eco Church Scheme was launched in 2016 and by the end of 2024 almost 8000 churches had registered to become Eco Churches and 3000 of them had achieved an award: Bronze, Silver or Gold. You can read about Eco Church awards here. There are five areas that a church must demonstrate environmental engagement with to receive an award:

  • Worship and teaching
  • Management of church buildings
  • Management of church land
  • Community and global engagement
  • Lifestyle

In 2022 Cornerstones’ Ecumenical Council and Congregational Meeting agreed that the church would register as an Eco Church and work towards achieving Bronze, Silver and Gold Award status by 2024, 2026 and 2030 respectively. An Eco Church Core Group was formed to lead Cornerstone’s Eco Church activities. When the Core Group first completed the Survey in 2022 it found that Cornerstone had not yet achieved any award, and so it drew up a programme of activities for 2022–2023. By October 2023, when the Group redid the Survey, it found that Cornerstone had achieved Bronze Award status.

Worship and Teaching

In 2024 Cornerstone celebrated creation through worship and teaching in a variety of ways, through organizing special services, a Lent Study on ‘Calling a Wounded Earth Home,’ a church picnic, a prayer vigil for World Environment Day, and a concert performance of Haydn’s The Seasons.

Buildings and Energy

One of the major achievements recently, the installation of a ‘touch-activated automatic double door system’ as recommended in Cornerstone’s Energy Audit, to save heat-loss and reduce our carbon footprint by 1.83 tonnes of CO2 a year. Having installed LED bulbs in 2023, the energy bill was reduced by around one third.

Land and Nature

The Eco Church garden work party has had several sessions tidying-up the four Cloister gardens. We were also pleased to have been given permission by Milton Keynes City Council to manage the two gardens to the North and South at the front of the church. Recently a sparrow box has been erected on the North wall.

Community and Global Engagement

Cornerstone members supported local and national level advocacy about environmental and climate change issues. This included members participating in the ‘Restore Nature Now’ march in London and hosting three meetings of the MK Climate Action Network to engage with local councillors on plans for the sustainable development of Milton Keynes. Cornerstone has maintained its registration as a Fair Trade church and ensured that a range of Fair Trade certified produce or goods is available from the Church shop.

Lifestyle

A series of short talks was also organized during the Church Notices, to encourage Cornerstone members to reflect on a range of lifestyle issues ranging from ‘Reducing energy use’, Fairtrade, and ‘Recycling’, to car sharing.

Plans for 2025

Looking ahead to 2025, Cornerstone will review its progress using the new Eco Church survey, produce an Environmental Policy and Net Zero Plan, and continue to engage with civil society groups and civic leaders as it strives to achieve Silver award status.

Resources about the environment and climate change

  • A Rocha has many useful resources to guide churches take action on all five areas:

https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/resources/

Please contact Stuart Kean for more information about how you can support Cornerstone Church’s Eco Church activities.