Beverley Minster received the A ROCHA Bronze award in 2022 and is now working to gain the Silver award.
Here are their Eco tips for 2024.
JANUARY
Make ‘enjoying nature’ your priority.
From bird watching – take part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 24-26 January by signing up at https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/big-garden-birdwatch?source=BWLITH0321&u…=
– to writing about or drawing something that inspires you in nature, growing your own fruit or vegetables, or exploring an area of outstanding natural beauty in the UK, be sure to fall in love with nature in a new way this coming year and allow it to lead your thoughts towards God our Creator. Further ideas can be found at arocha.org.uk/ideas-to-enjoy-nature/
New Year’s resolution
We all make new year’s resolutions which are largely broken by mid January, so if you’re looking to try a new one consider calculating your carbon footprint for 2025, it doesn’t take long and then repeat it annually!
Long journeys start with small steps.
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.”
Psalm 42, v.1
Beverley Minster’s Eco Creed
- We believe that God made the world and “it was good”.
- We share in his creativity as caretakers of his beautiful creation on behalf of the generations to come.
- We acknowledge, though, that through negligence and greed we have damaged and destroyed much of the planet.
- We believe that climate change is happening now and that it impacts in particular the poorest and most vulnerable who contribute least to global emissions.
- We believe that we need to repent, to change the way we live and rediscover our calling to care for the whole of creation.
- We are committed to help the Church of England to achieve its declared aim of being carbon neutral by 2030 and to increase our awareness and appreciation of the environment.
To guide us we are using an environmental audit looking at 5 areas of church life prepared by the Christian charity A Rocha UK that offers bronze, silver and gold awards.
Open each section below to find out about our Eco creed
Beverley Minster and the Clergy are committed to incorporating care for God’s creation into worship and teaching. The church has several services a year focusing on creation, God’s bounteous provision for us, and our responsibility for caring for God’s world. The Quiet Garden is set aside for private prayer and contemplation as well as being used on occasion for home groups to meet.
Beverley Minster is responsible for several areas of land which we are looking to use to maximise biodiversity and appreciation and engagement with God’s creation.
The church yard is open each day during daylight hours when the Minster is open. It is now closed for burials and is maintained by the East Riding council. This area has snowdrops, aconites, daffodils and buddleia in season. Through National Heritage Lottery Funding the Sanctuary Project has created a wild flower area with planters for herbs and seating to enable enjoyment of the space. This area is accessible from the church yard entrance and from the Minster itself when weather permits.
The Secret Garden, the Quiet Garden and a strip of land adjacent to the parish hall are all managed by volunteers. The Secret Garden is part of the Vicarage but is available for church use. This area has a wildlife pond, hedgehog house, log piles for mini-beasts and bird feeders as well as fruit trees, flower borders, vegetable patch and a compost heap. Flowers from the garden are used in the church. Frogs, hedgehogs, numerous birds and the occasional fox frequent the Secret Garden.
The Quiet garden, next to the parish centre, is used for private prayer and contemplation and house groups from time to time. The Quiet Garden is part of The Quiet Garden Movement.
Beverley Minster congregation wish to become more environmentally friendly. To help and encourage this on an individual level we are promoting lifestyle ways to do this. We are promoting the Climate Heroes survey which determines an individual’s carbon footprint and advice on how to reduce the footprint where possible. We recognise change is difficult, but we believe each small step can make a big difference when we add our individual steps together, whether it be a reduction in car use, heating, plastic use, litter picking or creating space for nature.
The Church of England has declared a climate emergency and aims to be zero carbon by 2030. We are committed to help with achieving this. Our buildings include the Minster, Parish Hall, Peter Harrison Room and the Parish Centre. We are formulating a delivery plan to achieve carbon zero. We realise that this will need community engagement and financial investment requiring funds to be raised. The Church does an annual energy return to determine our energy footprint which is rated A++ to G. Our footprint will help us to formulate the delivery plan. We are currently looking at all our energy consuming systems with a view to reducing our fossil energy consumption and to bring them all within an affordable envelope.
Being an Eco church is more than looking after the Minster buildings and land in an environmentally friendly way although this is a key component. It involves every area of our church lives, including how we engage with our local community and the wilder world. Our actions speak louder than words in caring for God’s creation. To facilitate this we are working through Beverley Churches Together to encourage collective working on issues of climate change and other environmental issues. We have met with East Riding Council and are fostering links with them for the benefit of the environment. We have arranged a joint meeting in September to learn about the council’s eco initiatives. We are also contacting non-church groups to encourage a positive impact on the environment. We are also trying to learn from our Christian partners around the world about the impact of climate change and other environmental issues affecting them.
We are also reviewing the cleaning products and other items used in the Minster for their Eco credentials and where possible attempting swaps to more eco-friendly alternatives.