St Andrew's Methodist church is the first in Worcester to be recognised for its environmental values. Eco-congregation Award At the church, the congregation has been involved in: - Learning about climate change through special services and magazine articles.
- Fundraising for a well in Mali, through holding bread and soup lunches.
- Supporting the Make Poverty History Campaign.
- Visits to the Materials Reclamation Facility at Hill and Moor to learn about recycling; and also to Bishops Wood Environmental Centre.
- Changing all light fittings in the church to low-energy bulbs.
- Supporting tree planting in Africa to offset carbon emissions from the flights to the USA by the St Andrew's Singers.
- Eco-Services for One World Week in 2004 and 2006.
- Committing to using fair trade tea and coffee for all events.
Preserving God's creation | "The environmental crisis is a huge challenge and there is a lot more we want to do in our church." | | Robert Lewin-Jones, Eco-congregation group coordinator |
Church Minister Revd. Anne Smith says: "We are delighted to have achieved this award. "We take seriously our responsibility as stewards of God's creation and gaining this award we intend to continue to confront the issues involved." The Eco-congregation scheme started in 2000 and is an environmental programme for churches. It's run by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland in partnership with The Arthur Rank Centre. The scheme is ecumenical and helps churches make the link between environmental issues and Christian faith, responding by taking practical action in the church, in the lives of individuals, and in the local and global community. It leads churches from a wide range of denominations firstly through an environmental audit of church life. A range of actions, chosen by the individual church, to 'green' the life of the church and congregation, is followed and finally submitted for an 'Eco-congregation Award'. More to be done
Robert Lewin-Jones is Eco-congregation group coordinator and he says: "We are very pleased to receive this award in recognition of the good work that has already been done at St. Andrew's. "The Methodist Church has a long tradition of challenging injustice and being a good neighbour. "Environmental issues, and especially climate change, make life very difficult for some of the poorest people in the world. "The environmental crisis is a huge challenge and there is a lot more we want to do in our church. "The award will encourage us to keep going." Worcester MP Michael Foster presented the Eco-congregation award to St Andrew's Methodist church congregation during their morning service on Sunday 4 March 2007. | 
