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Greener Church Group

As Christians we try to care for all people and also look after our world. The Greener Church Group aims to encourage environmental good practice both within the church and within the wider community. This is done mainly via the Church’s monthly magazine, the Messenger, which has a Green Matters page. About 250 copies of the Messenger go to church members or church contacts with other copies in racks for community groups to take home. A long list of green tips taken from the Green Matters pages is available here.

The Group was formed after four church members heard a talk given at Dorridge Methodist Church in February 2009. The speaker worked for an international engineering consultancy and his role was improving the environmental performance of large buildings. The four were enthused and proposed to the Church that a green group be set up. After some preliminary work, the Group was created in 2010 with the following aims:

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  • to give leadership, by example, to our local community, in particular to the many who use the premises;
  • continually to review, in co-operation with the Church’s Property Committee, how the Church’s own activities affect the natural environment and to see whether any adverse impact could be lessened;
  • share ideas about good environmental practice with our own church members.

We run a major, visible, recycling service for everyday items such as batteries, spectacles and printer cartridges. Judging from the volumes collected, this has become very useful to many of the thousand or so who come through the church’s premises each month. In particular, collections of specific items have been organised including: men’s suits, wool, clothes, and shoes. In addition for several years, we have been collecting tools for Tools With A Mission (TWAM) which is a charity that collects unwanted usable tools, refurbishes them and sends them to training centres in five African countries.

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The Group gives advice and suggestions about the maintenance of the church’s building and grounds. This has touched upon: the efficient use of energy and the need for good thermal insulation; the choice of plants to encourage wild life; and the installtion of bug hotels and bird feeders.

It was most encourgaing that in 2025 the church was awarded the status of Gold Eco Church: click here for details.