Emmanuel has recently been awarded our Bronze Eco Church Award. We are also continuing to explore how we can go further in caring for God’s earth.

The A Rocha award scheme for churches is designed to help churches of all denominations to care for creation as an integral part of loving their neighbours and following God faithfully. By helping us to consider five key areas of church life, we have been able to look at making changes that help us care more for God’s creation. These areas are:

• Worship and teaching
• Management of church buildings
• Management of church land
• Community and global engagement
• Lifestyle

Emmanuel’s grounds are not large but a small area, particularly the bank, is being managed to encourage a profusion of wild flowers, including the all-important Yellow Rattle which enables wild flowers to grow while suppressing invasive grass. This has also encouraged butterflies, bees and other pollinators. As much as possible we use Fairtrade products, green energy and eco-friendly cleaning materials and toiletries.

We are looking at how we can partner with our schools and community to give our planet and our children a better future as we now aim for our Silver Award.