Horsham Eco Churches Online

Horsham Eco Churches aims to inspire and encourage others to share ideas and discover more about caring for God’s creation. With over a dozen churches actively engaged in the Eco Church programme, we are making a positive impact on our local environment and in the wider world.

Connect with Horsham Eco Churches

Read the July edition of Horsham Eco Churches News, including events, resources, training, grants and campaigns. Click subscribe to get the latest news delivered to your inbox every month.

Email Karen Park, Eco Church Lead for Horsham Churches Together: horshamecochurches@gmail.com.

Visit the Horsham Eco Churches stand at the Sussex Green Hub on the last Saturday of every month, 10am – 2.30pm at the Horsham United Reformed Church, Springfield Road, Horsham, RH12 2RG.

Horsham Eco Churches at Plant to Plate Festival 26.4.25

Eco Church Programme

A Rocha UK’s Eco Church is a learning community of churches of all shapes and sizes and open to all denominations. It provides a framework to support churches in taking practical action on caring for God’s earth through the Eco Church survey and practical resources. The Eco Church survey is a self-assessment tool for churches to connect environmental issues with their Christian faith and mission, and respond with practical action in the church, people’s lives, and the local and global community. It survey covers five key areas of church life:

Worship and teaching
Buildings and energy
Land and nature
Community and global engagement
Lifestyle

The survey will guide you and help you assess your progress towards a Bronze, Silver or Gold Eco Church award. Read Eco Church Survey at a Glance to find out more, then sign up at ecochurch.arocha.org.uk. Each church in Horsham Eco Churches is working towards their next award, with some having already achieved bronze and silver awards!

OnePlanet Technology

Climate change can seem overwhelming but together we can do simple things to help the planet and reduce our bills. Horsham Eco Churches are pioneering churches using OnePlanet technology, in collaboration with community groups and local government, working together to achieve our common goals, share resources and knowledge.

Structured around the 5 Eco Church key areas, using a Mindmap to plan and add Outcome: what you want to achieve, Action: how you achieve it, Indicator: what you will track and Join the dots to link them. Change the view with a single click to Table for managing and Document for reporting. Link with other networks to see shared outcomes through these lenses:

Resources

Flowers and Sustainability

Read about the environmental impact of the flower industry in Sustainable Flowers & Floristry, an article by Horsham Eco Churches and first published in the West Sussex County Times. Learn about flower industry concerns, floral foam research, resources and case studies at Flowers and Sustainability – Horsham Eco Churches 9.9.23. Then discover more at the Sustainable Church Flowers website.

Treasure Safeguard & Care for Creation

Many thanks to St Mark’s Church, Holbrook, for organising this conference on 1st October 2022, as part of Great Big Green Week. Here are links to the videos and PDF downloads of some of the slides

We are Stewards of God’s Creation – Reverend Dr Richard Coldicott – SLIDES
A Rocha UK, Eco Church & The Climate Emergency Toolkit – Karen Park – SLIDES
Horsham District Community Climate Fund & Wilder Horsham District Nature Recovery Award – Helen Peacock
Church Land – Biodiversity & Community Engagement – Karen Park, Hennie Sleeman & Jo Browse – SLIDES
Global Engagement & Tearfund’s Time to Deliver Campaign – Adrian Hawthorn
Solutions in the Amazon – Nicola Peel
Sustainable Flowers & Floristry – Karen Park – SLIDES – HANDOUT
Conference Closing Worship & Prayer – Reverend Dr Richard Coldicott

A Fairer Easter for People and Planet

Learn more about fair trade with A Fairer Easter for People and Planet, with an article by Fairtrade Horsham originally published in the West Sussex County Times and a blog by Horsham Eco Churches for Sussex Green Living.

The 12 Rs of Christmas

Ideas from Horsham Eco Churches for a greener, more sustainable Christmas: The 12 Rs of Christmas 2024.

Creation Care Award Scheme

Encourages households to make changes to care for God’s earth, the online questionnaire and printable certificates recognise progress made, and resources provide ideas for your next steps towards Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. https://creationcare.org.uk.