Beulah URC is delighted to have been awarded A Rocha’s Eco Church Gold Award, and we are pleased to be playing our part in growing Eco Church across the URC National Synod of Wales. Beulah’s Eco Church journey began many years ago and we are grateful for the leadership of all the ministers who have guided and encouraged us so creatively in our understanding of environmental theology and action.
The URC Environmental Policy states we are ‘a body of people committed by our faith to caring for God’s Creation’. Many churches across the Synod are already working on the Eco Church award scheme and taking action in their own ways, but we would like to share a little of what we’ve done in Beulah on our journey to gold.
Much of Beulah’s community outreach is around environmental issues. We use our geographical position at the crossroads in Rhiwbina village in North Cardiff to engage with the local community and raise awareness through artwork and events.
Creation care principles are embedded in the practical actions we take. The church has commissioned surveys to look at how our buildings can be made more energy efficient. Low energy lighting, loft insulation and solar panels are all direct outcomes of our underlying eco values. We are supplied by green energy and have divested from fossil fuels.
Beulah’s garden has been awarded Green Flag status as a community garden for the past four years and we are always pleased to welcome members of the public who come to enjoy the peaceful surroundings. The garden has been developed with a strong emphasis on sustainable gardening principles, and we are particularly keen to get our young people involved. The Junior Church children grow vegetables including potatoes, beans, rhubarb, courgettes and herbs.
When the Eco Group lead worship we always include the children, and their contributions add colour and creativity to our services. Junior Church created a wonderful tree out of their Show the Love hearts, and we decorated the windows of our buildings with hearts during the pandemic. They also represented the percentages in our 360carbon audit in imaginative ways by using Lego towers and shoes.
Working within the Eco Church award scheme has encouraged us to engage with our elected representatives. In the climate and biodiversity crisis, we understand the important role churches can play in lobbying for political action, and we always try to support campaigns run by Christian Aid and the Climate Coalition. Our MP and MS have attended Great Big Green Week and Show the Love events and have met with us to discuss important issues around climate justice. We are pleased to work in the community alongside local groups including Rhiwbina Against Plastics and the Rhiwbina Eco Team, and we value the opportunity to collaborate with larger organisations such as Climate Cymru and Repair Café Wales.
We hope that Beulah’s Eco Church ideas and activities have impacted on the local community, and we invite participation in many of our projects. Churches, organisations and individuals contributed locally grown blooms to our Grown Not Flown flower festival and many people came along to enjoy the wonderful displays and scents. There was also an enthusiastic turn out at our Sustainable Fashion Fair with people taking part in workshops and a fashion show on the day.
The Eco Group collaborated with community artist, Jo Jones, to create a gallery of eight images which we hung outside on our community centre wall. Each picture was made from leaves, bark and flowers and represented a swap we could make, or a step we could take to reduce our carbon footprints, prevent pollution and protect nature.
One of our ministers, Revd Martha McInnes, helped us create the images and says of Beulah’s Eco Church journey, “When we arrived in Cardiff, Beulah was already deeply committed to care for creation. The church has worked with dedication and creativity to engage the congregation and the wider community in responding to the climate crisis. Worship, stewardship of premises and creative programs tell the story of the wonder and vitality of creation at Beulah”.
Whether it is community art, local campaigns and activities, the flower festival or fashion fair, we always try to have helpful information and explanations about why we are putting on events, the environmental message behind them and possible actions people can take going forward.
Please take a look at our website to find out more about Eco Church in Beulah https://www.beulahurc.org.uk/ecochurch.htm
