Actions for Churches

Climate change is happening now, and it's happening fast.  One in four species on earth is currently at risk of extinction. We need to act now to stop this destruction of the beautiful life-giving world God created. Change must happen at every level - global, national, corporate and personal. How do we respond as churches, as people of faith and hope?

Here are some resources and ideas we are using at Hope in Action to help raise our voices and take action to bring about change. We offer these are a model for churches to follow.

Actions for Churches

Here are some suggested actions for your church.

Teamwork

Appoint a sustainability champion or team, to share ideas, make things happen, support one another. Sign-up to receive Hope in Action newsletters.

Congregation

Motivate your congregation to engage with the crisis drawing on our Resources. Encourage your congregation to get involved in local organisations.

At Your Service

If you teach, preach or lead worship, A Rocha has a dedicated service for you. ‘At Your Service’ has been designed for Christian groups who want to explore the biblical basis of caring for God’s earth. You’ll find sermon ideas, Bible studies, prayers, songs, children’s activities and much, much more.

Eco Church

Register with Eco Church to take the questionnaire to assess your church against five key areas; and then work towards Bronze, Silver and Gold awards by using their resources.

Operation Noah

Use Operation Noah resources to introduce the theology within your churches’ daily life. Run a sermon series e.g. addressing “Where God is in this crisis”.

Green Christian

Join Green Christian and find a local group and events, participate in Green Christian campaigns and make use their extensive resources.

Publications

Read our recommended books - There Is No Planet B and How Bad are Bananas (Mike Berners-Lee) and Ruth Valerio’s book L is for Lifestyle. Church resources can be found in Time to Act by Christian Climate Action.

Petition

Support petitions and actions. Find out what your global links and charities such as Christian Aid are doing. Get involved with their actions and their care for people already suffering the effects of climate and environment breakdown. Get your church involved in Hope for the Future to put pressure on government.

Values

Develop values within your faith community which look to the future. Use them in all your interactions with others.

Community

Reach out to your local community to provide reliable information, offer hope and stand alongside them in their time of pain and eco-anxiety. Organise local 'green' events and raise awareness within your own local community.

Protest

Get active and engaged politically. Some will join Extinction Rebellion to lean hard on the Government to make the necessary changes at the top - support and encourage them! Engage with young people by supporting climate strikes. This may also involve engaging with head teachers to help them catch the urgency too. Everyone in the congregation can use their vote. Challenge your candidates and representatives on climate and environment issues. Encourage them when they take radical action. Hold them to account. Support is available for this from Christian Aid, A Rocha and other organisations.

Network

Get connected with other active local environment groups– maybe Friends of the Earth or Greenpeace. Link up with other local churches, perhaps forming your own Hope in Action local gathering.

How should my Church respond to the Climate and Creation Emergency?