PRESS RELEASE: Diocese of Lincoln Receives National Eco Award

The Diocese of Lincoln has received its first national environmental award for supporting grass-roots climate action and helping local church communities care for the natural world in sustainable ways.

The bronze Eco Diocese award is presented by national Christian charity A Rocha UK, which works to protect and restore the natural world.

It represents a breakthrough milestone for the diocese, which is the regional presence of the Church of England in Lincolnshire.

The award recognises the momentous strides taken by the diocese to coordinate a united response to climate change. It has brought together churches, schools, community support teams and Lincoln Cathedral as they pursue a cleaner, greener and more hopeful future in the face of the global climate emergency.

In the Christian faith, nature is part of God’s created order in the universe. Christians believe that people are called to live mindfully as a part of creation, alongside plants and animals, with compassion and care.

The diocese has been praised for meeting, and in some cases exceeding, the challenging award criteria.

This includes designing a robust environmental policy, providing training and development opportunities for church ministers and communities to care for creation, a commitment to ethical finance and investments, and the vital ongoing work to become carbon net-zero by 2030.

A key part of the success is the growing number of Eco Churches in the diocese who have their own A Rocha UK award status. This individual award highlights the local activities and projects that are having positive environmental effects thanks to a church’s community engagement and leadership.

Polly Eaton, Eco Diocese Officer at A Rocha UK, commented:

“Our huge congratulations to the Diocese of Lincoln on their well-deserved bronze Eco Diocese award. They have demonstrated a robust underpinning of theology, policy and training.

“The diocese has harnessed its relationship with the Diocese of Polynesia, which is all the way across the other side of the world, to highlight the breadth of the climate crisis and influence action within both dioceses. It is a superb example of illustrating the effects of climate change and related social justice issues.

“It’s been so encouraging to hear about initiatives across the Diocese. We hope they enjoy celebrating this award and seeing how it inspires others.”

The Bishop of Grimsby, the Rt Revd David Court, said the award was a clear indication of the direction the diocese is heading in:

“This clearly shows how far we’ve come in putting the environment at the heart of mission and service.

“As church buildings become more energy efficient and communities are inspired to love nature as well as their neighbour, there will be many more opportunities to celebrate.

“Until we have a world that is free from the ravages of a wounded climate, we must press ahead with our ecological commitments.”

Stiorra Xander-Crabb, the Deanery Environment Champion for North East Lincolnshire in the Diocese of Lincoln, has seen dramatic change in the Grimsby area. She said:

“When I started, only two churches in the Grimsby area were registered as Eco Churches. We now have an incredible 34 out of 41 churches signed up, some of which are getting silver awards for their efforts.

“It’s such an honour to see what faith and hope are doing in our area.

“Folks have been willing to pick up the ball and run with it. I’ll be delighted when all churches are registered, and everyone has at least one award. This is just the beginning.”

One of the very first churches to sign up as an Eco Church in the diocese back in 2016 is St John the Baptist Church in Lincoln. Situated on the Ermine estate, the church has continuously sought ways to reduce its energy consumption over the years and has recently received attention for a bold urban eco-renewal project in its churchyard which is improving biodiversity.

Revd Rachel Heskins, who is the priest at St John the Baptist Church, said:

“One of our latest projects is the growth of a wildflower meadow here in the churchyard, something which we’ve fortunate enough to expand over time.

“People are already saying you can hardly tell you are in a city, with so much nature around.

“It’s important that everyone benefits in various places, so we have teamed up with St Giles church in Lincoln to support a community garden over there, which the kids really enjoy getting involved with.

“And, of course, we have living flowers inside the church which have become a permanent addition around the paschal candle.”

Canon Sarah Spencer, Mission and Discipleship Officer and Diocesan Environment Officer in the Diocese of Lincoln, said that small actions can make a big difference:

“The thoughtful actions that we take in our neighbourhoods to look after nature, both in rural and urban areas, can have a dramatic impact over time.

“Even on this local scale, it shows a global concern for our neighbours around the world who are experiencing climate change now.

“This is about loving the community that we live in both locally and globally, where we respect all inhabitants – whether they are human or non-human. The local really does matter.”

And Sarah said that the diocese’s work has only just begun:

“We’re not resting on our laurels. We need many more of our churches engaged with this transformation. It requires a big shift in our imagination and culture, and the building blocks are now in place.

“The way we do things is changing, and we’re here to make that change possible.

“We’re heading for the silver award, and then of course we’ll go for gold.”

ENDS

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