Following recent guidance from the Deanery Synod encouraging all churches in the United Kingdom to become Eco Churches, we at St Peter’s registered on the 8th of May 2024 with A Rocha UK a Christian charity working to protect and restore the natural world and committed to equipping Christians and churches in the UK to care for the environment. Leicester Diocese is one of many working with its parish churches and A Rocha UK, although A Rocha UK works with churches of all denominations. The importance for them is to encourage all Christians to be aware of their carbon footprint and take measures to improve it, to care for the earth created by God.

The idea is that we study our actions in worship, managing our land, the care of the church building and be more in tune with protecting God’s Earth as well as encouraging others in our neighbouring communities to join us to help reduce our carbon footprint by 2030.

What can we do?

You might be thinking “how can I make the slightest difference to this big climate change problem we have, bearing in mind that 2030 is only 6 years away”. Please rest assured that as a collective group we certainly can make a difference. Rolling stone and all that…

Our aim at St Peter’s is to take you on our journey and update you with changes that we make.

Making a start for our churchyard wildlife with bug hotels and hedgehog houses

One area that we would like to change before the winter is to put up bird boxes and install hedgehog houses and bug hotels in the churchyard. Is this something that you could help us with? Bat boxes were installed as part of the Saving and Celebrating Our Heritage Project in 2018 and the area at the back of the churchyard is delightful in spring with its early flowering bulbs of scillas, anemones, daffodils, primroses and violets. All these early flowers offer vital nutrition for insects and pollinators emerging from hibernation. Our extensive collection of trees provide important habitat for birds and bats too.

Are there any craftsmen in the villages who could help? Children, would you like to build us some bug hotels? Is this something you could do in your own gardens perhaps?

We would like to look at planting more insect butterfly friendly plants in certain areas of the churchyard. Our approach to the church gates could do with some tender loving care for sure. Would you like to volunteer to help us one weekend to make it more welcoming?

Please get in touch via our email service here: info@churchlangton.org.uk

What is your carbon footprint?

Creation Care is a website specifically for households to discover their own carbon footprint. It’s worth taking a few minutes to take a look and discover your own household’s carbon footprint. Yes I did register our household and got quite a shock as we were in major deficit due to two short-haul flights we had taken! It has made me think about ways that I can claw back these air miles. I now think twice about doing single car journeys and try to combine them or walk. I look to see where our family food is coming from and try to buy local and UK grown. Single use plastic worries me.

The pictures of the turtles in the sea wrapped in plastic netting is very upsetting. Cling film is a thing of the past in my house as are plastic shopping bags.

What can I do next you might ask?

Have a look at https://creationcare.org.uk/ and see which certificates your household would qualify for. Please mention St Peter’s in the link …. this will improve our certification.

Earth Hour

Thank you to anyone who took part in Earth Hour in March by switching electricity off at 8-30 and Earth Day In April.

Alison Thurlby PCC member
Echo family at St Peter’s Church Langton
Feel free to send us pictures on St Peter’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/stpeterschurchlangton