Making environmentally friendly choices is easier if you can see a wide range of attractive, eco-friendly items, and holding an Eco Day seemed a way of giving people this opportunity. We were delighted that members of the eco- community were willing to run a good number of stalls at our Eco Day. So we had on offer Traidcraft items, vegan food, second hand books, vintage materials, craft items, plants and bird boxes. There were groups that people could get involved with: sewing beautiful things, running a community garden, joining the park conservation team and campaigning on eco issues. There were children’s craft and flower pot activities.
There was information about the electricity generated by solar panels and about calculating carbon footprints. Another poster explained that we as a church are trying to live more sustainably because we believe that
God is Creator, God gives freely and God gave humans the responsibility of using (not exploiting) the earth’s resources (Genesis 2:15).
Also, Jesus’ summary of the Jewish law includes principles of not taking more than we need, giving the first-fruits to God, leaving food for the poor and allowing creation to rest.
Jesus’ ministry often occurs in the open air, and he uses nature metaphors frequently in his teaching. Jesus is part of that creation, whilst also Lord of it (‘even the winds and the sea obey him’, Matthew 8.27).
People all seemed to enjoy the Eco Day, and I think we fulfilled our aim of raising awareness and encouraging visitors to choose more environmentally friendly ways of doing things. As something of a bonus, we raised approximately £300, to be split between Holy Trinity Parish Church and Toilet Twinning there.
For us, this was a very worthwhile event and we hope to hold another Eco Day sometime in the future.
Comments