What is your church doing to care for creation? In what ways is your church lowering its carbon footprint? These were some of the questions discussed at the “Greening our Diocese” event at Christ Church Cataraqui on Saturday Sept 23, when approximately 35 people from churches around our diocese gathered to celebrate the gift of creation and share food and ideas.
The day started with a Morning Prayer service of praise to our Creator with joyous singing accompanied by Mike Fenn, the Music Director at Christ Church.
A sumptuous potluck lunch consisting of an abundance of plant based dishes was enjoyed by all.
Our keynote speaker, Bishop Michael Oulton, spoke to us of the Marks of Mission and how we are charged to care for the earth, reminding us of the fifth Mark of Mission: “to continue to strive to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation, and respect, sustain and renew the life of the earth.”
He showed us photos of flooding due to the rise in sea level at Baie Vert, New Brunswick, his hometown. He spoke passionately about how, if global heating continues, his boyhood town can expect to be under the ocean as the Bay of Fundy rises. He thanked us for our efforts in taking measures which will help combat or cope with predicted changes in our climate, and reminded us to project an image of hope in the midst of the challenges we all face.
We heard encouraging reports of ways various churches are working to comply with the Synod 2021 resolution to reach 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Several churches in our diocese have taken up the offer of the Green Group to have thermal imaging done to show areas of heat loss. This service continues to be free and available to any church once the cold weather arrives. Simply contact [email protected].
A cold weather heat pump is being used in one church and is being considered in a number of others. Cold weather heat pumps can heat down to 30C and cool in the summer and they use no fossil fuels.
We were reminded that 5 degrees C is the recommended temperature for a church when the building is not in use.
Many churches have answered Bishop Michael’s call to plant trees. Indeed, the city of Brockville is blessed to have a veritable forest on city property, due to the enthusiasm and efforts of the Anglican churches in Brockville. Brockville is also beautified by a team from St Lawrence Anglican who have “adopted” highways, keeping them free of litter.
Several churches in our diocese are establishing community gardens.
We discussed ideas of what churches and families can do to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. A simple, easy and economical way for individuals to reduce their carbon and methane footprint is to move to a more plant based diet. We viewed a graph showing the relative GHG costs of meat, especially beef as compared to grains and legumes. The difference is shocking!
Rev Dr Ian Ritchie and Jim Biagi spoke briefly of their experience with electric cars. They maintain that EV’s are the vehicles of the future. Members of the Green Group also discussed our personal experiences with solar panels, heat pumps and the Canada Greener Homes Grant Initiative and other grants for individual homeowners.
Our hope is for our churches to have a ‘green team’ of people to champion environmental efforts, including submitting the annual report to Synod council on reductions to GHG emissions. For further information contact [email protected] or see our website at diocese of ontario/mission/creation care.
Greening our diocese
What is your church doing to care for creation? In what ways is your church lowering its carbon footprint? These were some of the questions discussed at the “Greening our Diocese” event at Christ Church Cataraqui on Saturday Sept 23, when approximately 35 people from churches around our diocese gathered to celebrate the gift of creation and share food and ideas.
The day started with a Morning Prayer service of praise to our Creator with joyous singing accompanied by Mike Fenn, the Music Director at Christ Church.
A sumptuous potluck lunch consisting of an abundance of plant based dishes was enjoyed by all.
Our keynote speaker, Bishop Michael Oulton, spoke to us of the Marks of Mission and how we are charged to care for the earth, reminding us of the fifth Mark of Mission: “to continue to strive to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation, and respect, sustain and renew the life of the earth.”
He showed us photos of flooding due to the rise in sea level at Baie Vert, New Brunswick, his hometown. He spoke passionately about how, if global heating continues, his boyhood town can expect to be under the ocean as the Bay of Fundy rises. He thanked us for our efforts in taking measures which will help combat or cope with predicted changes in our climate, and reminded us to project an image of hope in the midst of the challenges we all face.
We heard encouraging reports of ways various churches are working to comply with the Synod 2021 resolution to reach 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Several churches in our diocese have taken up the offer of the Green Group to have thermal imaging done to show areas of heat loss. This service continues to be free and available to any church once the cold weather arrives. Simply contact [email protected].
A cold weather heat pump is being used in one church and is being considered in a number of others. Cold weather heat pumps can heat down to 30C and cool in the summer and they use no fossil fuels.
We were reminded that 5 degrees C is the recommended temperature for a church when the building is not in use.
Many churches have answered Bishop Michael’s call to plant trees. Indeed, the city of Brockville is blessed to have a veritable forest on city property, due to the enthusiasm and efforts of the Anglican churches in Brockville. Brockville is also beautified by a team from St Lawrence Anglican who have “adopted” highways, keeping them free of litter.
Several churches in our diocese are establishing community gardens.
We discussed ideas of what churches and families can do to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. A simple, easy and economical way for individuals to reduce their carbon and methane footprint is to move to a more plant based diet. We viewed a graph showing the relative GHG costs of meat, especially beef as compared to grains and legumes. The difference is shocking!
Rev Dr Ian Ritchie and Jim Biagi spoke briefly of their experience with electric cars. They maintain that EV’s are the vehicles of the future. Members of the Green Group also discussed our personal experiences with solar panels, heat pumps and the Canada Greener Homes Grant Initiative and other grants for individual homeowners.
Our hope is for our churches to have a ‘green team’ of people to champion environmental efforts, including submitting the annual report to Synod council on reductions to GHG emissions. For further information contact [email protected] or see our website at diocese of ontario/mission/creation care.
Diocesan Green Group
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