Our Eco-Church plaque is dedicated by Rev Adrian Perry.
Eco-Church
As a church we are thankful for the beauty and diversity of God’s creation. Yet we are also concerned about the climate crisis, and are sorry for the ways we have been slow to act to protect the planet.
The Methodist Church of Great Britain has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030, and we as a local congregation recognise our responsibility to care for creation and help to slow global warming.
Over many years we have been taking action in different ways, such as installing LED bulbs throughout the church, setting aside part of our grounds to be a semi-wild woodland garden as a haven for wildlife, and holding special creation-themed services. In 2022 we signed up to the EcoChuch scheme, which gave us lots of new ideas about:
-cherishing the natural world -managing our building and land in more environmentally friendly ways -making changes to our lifestyles -speaking up for change and engaging the community.
We were delighted to received the EcoChurch bronze award in June 2022 and the Silver Award in October 2023. For more information about Eco-Church visit https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/
You can listen to an interview about EcoChurch with one of our church members at https://soundcloud.com/sheffieldmethodist/faith-hope-and-the-journey-eco-church
During 2022-24 we are raising funds to improve the energy efficiency of our building though better insulation, to renewable energy to make the building more ready for renewable energy sources such as solar panels.
During 2022-24 we are raising funds to improve the energy efficiency of our building though better insulation, to renewable energy to make the building more ready for renewable energy sources such as solar panels.
Our Church Hall is a very well-used community space and hosts lots of weekly groups, one-off events and community initiatives. It has been the birthplace of well-loved projects such as the Luncheon Centre, Repair Café and Messy Church.
We want to invest in making the building more energy efficient and less reliant on fossil fuels, so that it is more economical to run, and better for the planet.
We have now raised over £17,500 for our Eco Fund, which is halfway to our 2024 target of £35,000! Big thanks for all the support of our community fundraising events and individual donations. We are very grateful for external donations from Hathersage Jumblies, Hathersage Parish Charities, the Duke of Devonshire Charitable Trust, and the Better Derbyshire Dales Fund (which is funded by Derbyshire County Council Public Health, Derbyshire Dales District Council and the Clinical Commissioning Group.)
We have already used some of the money raised to install insulation in the church hall ceiling and will move on to install new external doors. We are aiming to raise another £17,500 by the end of 2024. Please consider donating towards our Eco Fund - click the link below to make an online donation through ‘Dona’ (you also have the option to add Gift Aid).
