What your church can do for a Healthy Earth! with Jessica Morthorpe - - PDF document

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What your church can do for a Healthy Earth!

with Jessica Morthorpe Uniting Earth Ministry Consultant (UCA NSW/ACT) & Five Leaf Eco-Awards Founder and Director

Welcome to Country Opening Prayer

God of 70,000, million million million stars and countless planets. We give thanks for your interest in ours. God of all the millions of species here around us, We give thanks for your interest in ours. Spirit of Life. Living Water. You are welcome here. We pray for a sense of your presence here amongst us, and an

• penness to what you have to

say to us today.

By Jason John

Why Should Churches Care for Creation?

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What does the Bible Say?

• Activity
• Group 1: God created the Universe
• Group 2: God Owns the Creation
• God loves the Creation
• God values the Creation
• Group 3: God sustains the Creation
• Group 4: God redeems the Creation
• Group 5: God’s Covenant with animals
• God’s concern for animals
• God’s promise to animals
• Group 6: Command to care for Creation
• Group 7: Humans have defiled the land
• Consequences of defiling the land
• Group 8: Creation Testifies of the Creator
• Creation praises the Creator

What does the Uniting Church say?

12/02/2018 3 What does a green church look like?

What are Australian churches doing for God’s Creation?

with Jessica Morthorpe Uniting Earth Ministry Consultant (UCA NSW/ACT) & Five Leaf Eco-Awards Founder and Director

ENVIRONMENT-THEMED WORSHIP SERVICES AND SPEAKERS

Templestowe UC – GRAND STAND for the environment

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• Rev. Rod

Pattenden, Adamstown Uniting Church

• World Environment Day Stole

Young Adult Eco-Retreat and Worship Service: Canberra City Uniting Church, ACT

Outdoor Chapels

Burung Bush Chapel (Terrigal UC, NSW)

Blessing of the Animals Service: All Saints Floreat Uniting Church WA

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Bellingen Eco-Faith Community ‘Walk and Wonder’

Lane Cove UC and Grace UC’s Outdoor Adventure Church

SAVING WATER ‘Delilah’, the Water Tank who serves the church

Maroubra Junction Uniting Church, NSW

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Festival of Living Water

Springvale Uniting Church, VIC

Greywater recycling

Maroubra Junction Uniting Church, NSW

Experimental technologies – rainwater bladder tanks

Charlestown Anglican Parish, NSW

COMMUNITY GARDENING AND FOOD

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Castlemaine Uniting Church, VIC Nightcliffe Uniting Church, NT St Luke’s Anglican Parish Mosman Park WA Port Phillip Uniting Church, VIC Hope Uniting Church, NSW

St George’s Uniting Church, Eden

“We started with enormous faith – and no garden tools or money to buy them. On the first day it rained and only one person turned up,

• Roger. As it happened he was an artist and

designed our sign. And everything happened from there…”

St Matthew’s Long Gully, VIC

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The Old Church on the Hill, VIC

Children’s Garden: Adamstown Uniting Church, NSW

Neutral Bay Uniting Church, NSW Neutral Bay UC

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Peace wall and garden

Warrandyte Uniting Church, VIC

Sophia’s Spring, an eco-feminist community of the Uniting Church

Sophia’s Spring: an eco-feminist community of the Uniting Church Adamstown Uniting Church, NSW

12/02/2018 10 SOLAR

Indooroopilly UC

UCIC – Wesley Church, Perth WA

St Anselm of Canterbury Anglican Parish Kingsley- North Woodvale WA

Bentleigh Uniting Church, VIC Castlemaine Uniting Church, VIC

Solar Crosses

Caloundra Uniting Church, QLD O’Connor Uniting Church, ACT All Saints Catholic Church, WA

12/02/2018 11 Tecoma Uniting Church, VIC – Powered by the Sun/Son!

Infant Jesus Catholic Parish - Morley

Solar Hot Water

ADVOCACY

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Crossroads Uniting Church, Werribee VIC

GETTING TO CHURCH SUSTAINABLY REDUCING WASTE

12/02/2018 13 SAVING ENERGY

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Uniting Church Centre - Perth

Greening Synods/Church Offices

TAKING ACTION

Tree Planting

Metro West First Third Churches (UCA WA)

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Schoolies For a Cause (UCA VIC/TAS) – volunteering with CVA in the Grampians

EDUCATION

Spring Garden Festival – St Saviour’s Anglican Church, WA

Green DVD

Maroubra Junction Uniting Church, NSW

12/02/2018 16 LEADING THE WAY

Food Co-Op: Brunswick Uniting Church, VIC

Brisbane, QLD St Phillip’s Church, QLD

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Brunswick Uniting Church, VIC

Protecting Biodiversity

Amegilla cingulata, commonly known as the blue-banded bee

The Old Church on the Hill, VIC Abbotsford Convent, VIC St Matthew’s Church Long Gully, VIC Swan View Uniting Church, WA

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Kids Animal Club Spider named after church

• Habronestes diocesegrafton

A Rocha Australia

RESTORING LOCAL ECOSYSTEMS

Charlestown Anglican Parish, Newcastle NSW

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Before After Greening the Church Booklet Other Great Ideas:

• Men’s Sheds
• Skills-Fest
• Citizen Science
• Partnerships with local conservation groups
• Ecumenical/Interfaith revegetation
• Youth Earthwatch Scholarships
• Beeswax Wrap making workshops
• Boomerang bags
• Partnerships with wildlife rescue

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Photo: Nearly half

• f the

items stocked at the Darwin Toy Library are rescued from landfill.

The Five Leaf Eco-Awards

An Ecumenical Environmental Change Program for Churches and religious organisations.

Supported by:

Associate member of the Council of Churches of WA

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Five Leaves/Areas:

• Buildings
• Worship
• Congregation
• Outreach
• Community Leadership

Caring for Creation

Can be very Rewarding! Award presentations

12/02/2018 22 http://fiveleafecoawards.org/

Earning An Award!

How Green is your church?

• Please get into church groups and go to:
• Fiveleafecoawards.org and click on ‘Survey’

The first award: Basic Certificate

• 1. Energy audit
• 2. 3 actions to reduce your resource use
• 3. 2 behaviour change campaigns
• 4. Provide 2 resources for members of your church

to take action in their own lives

• 5. Conduct a worship service around the

environment

• 6. Conduct a green outreach event
• 7. Complete a special project to show your

dedication

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• 1. Has your church conducted a casual

walk through energy audit of the church building?

• Energy Audit Handbook – PDF
• Fiveleafecoawards@gmail.com

How did your church go?

What else could your church be doing?

• Individual Brainstorm
• Share with your group

What is your first next step?

• Group brainstorm

12/02/2018 24 What resources do you need for that next step?

• Group Brainstorm
• Report back

How do we make sure that Creation Care becomes central to our life, witness and service?

A Dream and a Challenge

• Leading the way into a new way of life – for

the sake of God’s world

www.unitingearth.org.au

12/02/2018 25 http://fiveleafecoawards.org/

Unitingearthweb.org.au Uniting Earth Events Coming Up: Zero Waste Christmas Gift Making

Sydney:

• 3pm, Saturday 16th
• f December
• At UTC
• Cost: $10

Canberra:

• 2pm, Sunday 17th
• f December
• Location tba
• Cost: $10

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