What is Eco Church?

Eco Church is the mechanism that Amersham Free Church uses to support our work in caring for God’s Earth.  
   “The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it”

This quote from Psalm 24 tells us that we should protect the natural word and everything that lives in it. At Amersham Free Church we do a lot to care for God’s Earth, but being an Eco Church encourages us to think more about the decisions we make in our church life and in our private lives. Eco Church also allows us to celebrate what we are already doing and to demonstrate to the outside world that Amersham Free Church cares about creation.

More information about Eco Church can be found at https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/

AFC - Eco Church Articles

Note to all Wild Christians at Amersham Free Church - Yes that's you!

Here are some of the photos submitted so far for Eco Church.

"I love the way some of the plants were planted by me, like the alchemilla mollis, and some arrived by themselves, like the hartshorn fern. Submitted by Liz Waumsley	"I put these hedgehogs and the little bird there, hoping they would encourage real birds and animals".  Submitted by Liz Waumsley.	"I put these hedgehogs and the little bird there, hoping they would encourage real birds and animals".  Submitted by Liz Waumsley.
A Red Admiral Submitted by Doreen Platts	A Buff Tailed Bumble Bee Submitted by Doreen Platts	A Large Tortoiseshell Submitted by Doreen Platts
A Honey Bee Submitted by Doreen Platts	A Red-tailed Bumble Bee Submitted by Doreen Platts	A Tortoiseshell Butterfly Submitted by Doreen Platts
Manse Garden – the unmown section. Submitted by Ian Green	Windowsill Plants - “You don’t need to have a garden to be a Wild Christian and it doesn’t need to cost anything. The smaller plants are herbs which came free from M&S and the larger plants are a gift from a dear friend”. Submitted by Sue Wale	Wildlife garden – nature does the gardening. Submitted by Liz Waumsley
My 'lockdown project' has been to make our garden more eco-friendly, part of which has been to grow vegetables from seeds (bought online, of course!) using home-produced compost. I've also acquired a little greenhouse in the vegetable corner. I'm happy to report that they're all flourishing, and we're looking forward to harvest-time! Submitted by Hazel Richardson	I bought some nesting boxes and bird feeders (online too!) The bird feeders are much in demand - although unfortunately one of them turned out to be less squirrel proof than expected) and four nesting boxes are now installed in the trees in a quiet part of the garden. Hopefully some tenants may move in next Spring. Submitted by Hazel Richardson	“This bug hotel was hiding in my garage for years as a family gift without me knowing what it was or what it was for. It was only recently after watching a gardening programme on the TV that I realised its significance and set it up in my garden. I hope the bugs will have more intelligence and will know what to do with it without any TV prompting! Submitted by Erna Stevenson
The Bee House was a gift. It is made by Jennyruth workshops Ripon, founded by a friend of mine for adults with learning disabilities. It is meant to provide a home for bees (not honey bees) or insects. The workshops also makes bird boxes, toys etc. Submitted by Doreen Platts	This lovely orchid was a present from a friend living along our road, in celebration of our Golden Wedding. It really brightened up our celebration in isolation. Submitted by Norma Jenns	Linda Brockas is another wild Christian, as she tells us that she is growing plants in her garden to provide nourishment for bees, so her garden is full of pollinator plants, including weeds! She puts out food and water for birds and has two log piles that she is regularly adding to so that they are a fantastic habitat for insects and hibernating small mammals.

Climate change: 2019 was Europe's warmest year on record

Thought for the week by Liz Waumsley - 15th April 2020

What you can do to care for creation

This section of the Eco Church web site gives some practical lifestyle tips and advice on what we can all do to care for God’s Earth.

• Reduce your waste
  Waste refers to all the things we buy that we then throw away because we don’t need them. It may be food that we don’t eat, clothes that we never wear, plastic packaging, the list is endless. Waste is bad because we are using the natural resources of the planet to produce things that we don’t want.  Earth’s resources are not limitless. Then disposing of our waste damages the environment. Where is does rot, it produces methane which increases global warming. Where it does not rot, it fills up landfill sites, where green fields use to be found.

Some practical tips

Two apples – if you eat two apples a week, then only buy two loose apples from the supermarket, don’t buy a bag of 6 apples. No plastic waste, no food waste and it is cheaper.

No new dress or new suit for that family occasion – do you really need to buy a new outfit for every party you go to? Nobody will notice that you have worn that dress or suit before and if they do, tell them that you are caring for God’s Earth.

If you cannot reduce your waste, please try to recycle it in the correct council supplied bin or compost your food at home.
 

• Reduce your energy use
  We use energy in every aspect of our lives. In our houses and church building we use gas and electricity for heating, lighting and cooking; and we use petrol and diesel when we drive our cars. All this energy comes from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) which releases carbon dioxide into an ever warming atmosphere.

Some practical tips

Turn off lights – if a room is empty turn off the lights in that room.

Fit LED light bulbs – whenever you need to replace a light bulb, fit an LED bulb as it will save around 85% of the energy used.

           Don’t leave your TV on standby - that uses energy and is a waste of money.

Reduce your car use – can you walk, cycle or use public transport when you go to meet your friend for a coffee, go to art club, come to church or go shopping?
 

• Use Fairtrade and other ethically sourced goods when you can
  Amersham Free Church has been a supporter of Fairtrade goods for many years. We use Fairtrade products at Lunch Break and Tea at Three and our Fairtrade stall is open after our Sunday services for people to buy products from.
  
  We would like to encourage everyone to buy Fairtrade and other ethically sourced goods, as they help producers in developing countries to achieve better trading conditions by securing the rights of marginalised producers and workers. At the same time Fairtrade products are produced to high environmental standards, so everyone wins when you buy Fairtrade products.