Christian Denominations and the Environment

In June 2015, Pope Francis promoted Laudato Si, his second encyclical. It sets out a Christians duty to address the dangers we cause to Gods creation. This is not only addressed to Roman Catholics but to all people on Earth.

In 2016, the United Reformed Church re-stated its own formal Environmental Policy (insert link) which asserts that:

‘‘We know that human activity has contributed to the degradation of the earth and that this is not the will of God. We believe that this degradation limits the attainment of the fullness of life that God wills for all Creation, and is a sin for which we should seek forgiveness’.

Here at Trinity URC, we have an active Eco Team who have worked hard to get us a Silver Eco Church award. This award is given by A Rocha UK who are part of the larger A Rocha network internationally who are Christians engaging with communities in nature and conservation. We are now working on how to achieve a Gold award.

A big part of achieving Gold is personal lifestyle changes for members of our congregation. At a recent Creationtide Service, our congregation made promises to ‘use the car less’, ‘offset my carbon footprint when I take a flight’, ‘use public transport’, ‘grow more of my own vegetables’, ‘reduce my meat intake’, ‘turn off lights’……..

We also suggest that each member performs a personal lifestyle audit (insert link) to help them work on areas that they are falling short.

 Take a look at our other work and also for tips on how to how to live a more eco friendly life by clicking on the relevant tabs.