Silsden Methodist Church is celebrating two Eco Awards in two weeks! Having gained the “A Rocha Silver Eco Church Award” in April 2023, the church family has worked to upgrade this to the Gold Eco Church Award. We are delighted to report that Silsden has now reached the required standard, and has been awarded the Gold Eco Church Award, becoming the 55th church in England and Wales to achieve this award.
Being an Eco church is not simply about getting awards, but about a whole church commitment to caring for God’s earth. Achieving an award is not a statement that we have got there, but is evidence that our efforts over a whole range of matters are motivating people to think about how they live with respect to the planet. This is about a way of life, and the award is both a marker, and a sign of encouragement.
Eco church awards are assessed on 5 key areas:
- Worship and Teaching: as we meet as a church we talk, pray and share about the God the Creator at the heart of all life.
- Management of Church Buildings: we look at what practical measures we can take to minimise our carbon footprint and exist sustainably.
- Management of Church Land: we actively encourage biodiversity and wildlife around our building.
- Lifestyle: as individuals we consider a wide range of matters in our individual lives and make small but significant changes on how we impact the earth.
- Community and Global Engagement: we seek to be a positive force for good in our community, and a voice for justice around eco matters across this world.
Rev Clare Stainsby, minister at Silsden, says this, “the Gold Eco Award represents a great deal of hard work by the Eco team at the church, but also reflects the church family’s willingness to engage in these matters in many positive ways. We have all played our part in reaching this milestone and we will all play a part in maintaining the gold standard in our efforts for all things eco.“
As part of our community engagement, the Church hosts a hugely successful Repair Café once in a month in partnership with Silsden Climate Action Group. The Repair café is delighted to be the winner of the BBC Radio Leeds ‘Make a Difference’ Award 2024 in the ‘Green’ Category this summer.
The Repair Café began in June 2023. In the first year 624 items were brought in and 551 were fully or partially repaired or received advice, thus saving numerous items going to landfill as well as giving treasured items a new lease of life. A whole variety of repairs are carried out, from beloved soft toys to electrical appliances, and lots of gardening tools are sharpened. As well as repairs, there is a Pop-up Refill shop saving plastic bottles going into landfill; a second-hand book stall; advice given on energy saving; and collections of unwanted items such as bikes, phones etc which are passed on to charities who refurbish and redistribute. There is also a “swapping not shopping” shop.
Louise Farnell, lead for the Repair Cafe, says: “We’re absolutely delighted and proud to have won the BBC Radio Leeds Make A Difference Award.”
Silsden Methodist Church is a partner in Craven Methodist Church, part of Airedale Methodist Circuit. To date across Airedale, six churches have achieved bronze awards, four have reached silver, and now one gold award for Silsden.
By Eileen Jowitt, Eco Lead at Silsden Methodist Church
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