Eco Congregation 

 

Eco Congregation Notes 2024

As we move into a new year, we plan to add a new section to the Announcements as a way of supporting each other in our commitment to being an Eco Congregation. What we hope for is a weekly entry, not lengthy or complicated, linking to the areas of activity that Eco Congregation Ireland (ECI)  regard as environmental good practice for faith communities: Spiritual – Practical – Community – Global.
We would like if contributions could come from the congregation as a whole, based on whatever people feel is worth sharing -  reflections, observations, experiences, practical tips, images, quotations, statistics - anything that helps us better understand and motivate ourselves to action for Christian stewardship in the climate and biodiversity crisis.
So please start thinking about contributions you would like to share. In case we are swamped Maureen Rowan will coordinate their inclusion in the Announcements. Please email Maureen with your ideas at maureen.rowan@irishmethodist.org
Just to confirm we are not the only ones declaring a crisis - as of December 2023, 2,351 jurisdictions – including Dublin City Council -  in 40 countries - have declared a climate emergency.
We begin with a cartoon shared by Canon Trevor Sargent at the recent Leinster Gathering of ECI

Cartoon by U.S. cartoonist Joel Pett for USA Today, before the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit (COP 15)




And a prayer following Covenant Sunday
Lord, grant us the wisdom to care for the earth and till it.
Help us to act now for the good of future generations and all your creatures.
Help us to become instruments of a new creation,
Founded on the covenant of your love.
- From The Cry of the Earth
 

Update on Methodist Centenary Church as an Eco Congregation

In September 2020, the Church Council approved the submission of an application to become part of Eco Congregation Ireland (ECI). This decision followed the publication of a new Environmental Policy Statement by the Methodist Church in Ireland  (MCI), a direction by Conference in 2019 that each Circuit Executive have environmental issues as a standing item on their agenda and a statement by MCI that accreditation as an Eco -Congregation is ‘a highly recommended and  worthy ambition’.
Preparation for Centenary’s application to ECI included discussions at a ‘Sky’s the Limit’ meeting in November 2019, completion of an Environmental Check Up, implementation of a better system for waste reduction and recycling throughout Wesley House, and an increasing focus on environmental issues in preaching, reflection,  prayer, debate, community and global action.
So far, Centenary (MCC) has received the Awareness Award from ECI. This is the first step to full recognition as an Eco Congregation. It is regarded as an acknowledgement that a  church has started on the ECI journey and an encouragement to keep going. The next step is the Endeavour Certificate and we are working on the progress report needed for that application.
Membership of Eco Congregation Ireland  is not a ‘green washing’ exercise. ECI set challenging criteria for their Awards, but faith communities who persist make a significant contribution. Science and politics are not sufficient to secure the behaviour change needed from us as the last generation with the ability to stop the climate crisis. New social norms are also vital and faith communities can play an inspirational role, as described here by Naomi Klein: 

“People of faith, particularly missionary faiths, believe deeply in something that a lot of secular people aren’t so sure about: that all human beings are capable of profound change. They remain convinced that the right combination of argument, emotion and experience can lead to life-altering transformations. That is after all the essence of conversion.”      
              
Only five Methodist churches out of 212 (societies) are, so far, members of Eco Congregation Ireland. Two (Dundrum and Clonakilty) hold the full ECI Award and three (Centenary, Cloughjordan and Knock) hold the Awareness Award. There are many demands that require the attention of congregations but MCI policy remains as decided at Conference 2019. A new policy document and implementation framework is currently being developed by a Sub-Group of the Council on Social Responsibility.  Maureen Rowan from Centenary is a member of that Sub-Group.
We hope that Centenary can continue to enhance its contribution to ECI. The planned refurbishment project at Wesley House will have environmental dimensions, even though resources will not yet allow for ‘state-of-the-art’ heat pumps and elimination of fossil fuels. Fundamental energy-saving issues will be addressed and implementing even these has required extensive work by church leaders. Lessons from a project such as this can be shared for the benefit of others through the ECI communication channels (website, newsletter and conferences), along with the outcome of our continuing reflections, prayers, debates and community solidarity. This ‘peer-to-peer learning and mutual support’  is what Rev Andrew Orr (ECI Chair) describes as ‘an invaluable way to help catalyse communities into climate and environmental action’.
‘The reality is anything we do makes a difference, anything’.
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, climate scientist,
One of Oxfam’s Sisters on the Planet ambassadors
 

Methodist Centenary Church is part of Eco Congregation Ireland (ECI), which includes members from the Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist churches as well as the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). ECI encourages churches of all denominations to take an eco approach to worship, lifestyle, property and finance management, community outreach and contact with the developing world. Check out their website HERE.

Awareness of our Eco Congregation commitments infuse all aspects of church life and work. Sunday services include reflection on the beauty of God’s world and what practical steps can be taken to prevent further damage to the environment. We pray regularly for our wounded planet, for people in the developing world already affected by climate change and for future generations. Church members individually share experiences of eco-aware lifestyle changes and include environmental issues on the agenda for the discussion group ‘The Sky’s the Limit’.  We offer a small prayer garden for reflection on the gifts of creation around us, manage waste responsibly, and strive to reduce energy usage despite the challenges of our older buildings.