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On a wet and windy afternoon in November, over 120 people gathered at St Peter’s Church, Weston Favell in the Greater Northampton Deanery, to network, gather practical environmental resources and worship together.
The event was organised by new ecumenical group, Ecu-Eco, which began last year when St Peter’s and Abington Avenue United Reform Church got together to share environmental ideas and resources. Both churches had earned their A Rocha Eco Church Silver awards and were keen to get together not only to support each other but also offer support to other local churches who might be considering starting or advancing their own eco- journey. The group soon grew to include other churches including St Gregory’s Catholic church and Broadmead Baptist church members, followed by St Andrew’s, Wellingborough, and Spencer Benefice.
It was at one of these early meetings that ideas were put forward to host a ‘small’ event to which local churches of all denominations could be invited. Due to the popularity of the monthly Wild Worship at St Peter’s, it was decided this was the ideal location and Revd Canon Beverley Hollins gave her full support.
Planning for the event took off and Ecu-Eco were thrilled when Ruth Valerio, author of 'Saying Yes To Life - the 2020 Lent book for the Archbishop of Canterbury, accepted their invitation to be their keynote speaker.
On the day of the event over 120 people gathered at St Peter’s church hall with visitors coming from across the Diocese. Fair Trade refreshments were enjoyed, and everyone exchanged their ideas and plans for their own church's’ eco-journey.
Green Christian’s ‘Use your LOAF’ project was an excellent talking point, Wild Worship activities happened indoors and outside, and Revd Rachel Cooley was on hand to explain how Wild Worship began at St Peter’s, during the time of Covid restrictions.
Visitors moved over to St Peter’s Church to join in joyful worship, using prayers written during Wild Worship, and led by Revd Beverley, Fr Andrew of St Gregory’s and Revd Jane Wade of Abington Avenue URC. Ruth Valerio keynote speech was inspiring and encouraging.
Fellowship and delicious zero-waste soup made with vegetables from the local FoodKind Shop Zero was then enjoyed by many worshippers back in the church hall with the opportunity to chat with Ruth Valerio about her books.
Following the success of the event the Revd Canon Beverly Hollins said,
'The fifth mark of mission isn't fifth because it's least important but simply because there has to be an order. From the very first chapter of scripture we see God shaping creation and declaring it to be beautiful. I'm delighted with the work that the Eco team at St Peter's is doing as we constantly strive to better emulate God's care for his world. Working alongside colleagues in different traditions is vital, and it mattered that our service was not just a 'St Peter's' service, but one designed and led equally by all the members of the Ecumenical Eco group in Northampton. It was a huge joy to welcome members of many churches from Northampton and from the wider area, including the far reaches of Peterborough Diocese, to worship God, to hear from the amazing Ruth Valerio and be encouraged for the next phase of working to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.'
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Has this inspired you to make some changes within your parish to better care for God’s creation? Find out how to get started by visiting the environment pages on our website or contact the Environment Team here.