Winchmore Hill United Reformed Church members’ green-fingered efforts have gained a bronze-level A Rocha Eco Church Award.

The nationally recognised award acknowledges how a church cares for God’s earth in different areas of its life and work.

Winchmore Hill URC, which gained in the award in July, was able to demonstrate its eco-friendly commitments in its worship and teaching, along with the way it runs its church buildings, engages with the local community, and lifestyle of members of the congregation.

Andrea Latter, a church Elder, said: “Gaining this award is a wonderful acknowledgement of what we have achieved, especially during these past few months of lockdown which gave us an opportunity to put time and money where our heart is. We’ve invested in a native wildlife patch, converted a significant number of light fittings to LED and installed lighting controls, as well as created a plan for some bigger changes in the coming months, like installing some more double-glazing. 

“The hardest part of the award to achieve at this time is the ‘community involvement' section as plans to organise a community eco event have had to be put on hold, but that makes us all the more eager to hear from other groups if they'd like to join with us, and work together in improving our local environment.”

There are three Eco Church levels that can be applied for: bronze, silver and gold. The Revd Melanie Smith, Minister of the church, says the church is now working towards silver.

“This has energised us and will hopefully inspire other churches and places of worship locally to join us in working towards a more sustainable future,” she added. “With the climate emergency, we need to ensure that it's not simply our words and prayers that appreciate God's beautiful creation, that our actions back this up with making a lasting difference.

More information about A Rocha's Eco Church project can be found here. 

_{Image: Some of Winchmore Hill United Reformed Church’s Eco Church Team in the church's wildflower garden.
Published: 24 August 2020}