Wakefield Cathedral is celebrating green success, as they recently achieved their Bronze Eco Church Award.
The cathedral has engaged with lots of different areas to achieve this award, including running their Gaia Festival, where they hosted the Gaia touring artwork.
The work, by artist Luke Jerram is a seven-metre replica of the globe, designed to help people get a view of our home planet normally reserved for those in space.
The cathedral also worked hard to calculate their carbon footprint, prepared weekly communications on eco matters, and develop partnerships with local community groups, such as Greening Westgate, Cathedral Cycle Route and Appletree Community Garden.
Mark, a member of the Cathedral’s Eco Group, said: “Climate change is one of the most significant issues facing us today.
“Having been involved with helping to set up and develop the Cathedral’s Eco Group over the past year, it has been rewarding to see how our faith has guided us during this journey.
“My contribution has included engaging with the local community to help facilitate the Greener Westgate initiative, showing how as Christians we are playing our part in protecting and enhancing our environment.”
Sue, another Eco Group Member, said: “The writing of Eco Comment every week has provided me with an opportunity to research environmental issues and hopefully pass them on to the congregation in a way that says each and every one of us in our own small way can help make God’s creation a better place for us and our descendants.”
Father Tim Carroll, Curate at the Cathedral, said: “Looking forward, we are now hoping to refocus on the reasons why it is important for us to engage in eco work.
“We begin any mission around the environment with the belief that God’s creation is very good and humans created in the image of God have a responsibility in partnering with God in caring for the environment and to challenge the sin that leads to its harm.”
The Eco Church scheme is run by A Rocha UK, which inspires and resources Churches and Cathedrals to become greener.
Part of the scheme invites users to complete surveys on five key areas; Worship and Teaching, Management of Building, Management of Land, Community and Global Engagement and Lifestyle.