ST LUKE’S Sustainability TEAM
When the Sustainability Team at St Luke's caught hold of the urgency of the climate crisis in 2019, we were galvanized into action and had a hunger to find out more. Some of the results of this can be seen in our resources (follow the links below).
We want to reach out to share the urgency and knowledge we have gained, and encourage churches into radical action. Hence sharing our resources through this website, and forming the Hope in Action network. Through our newsletters and conversation forum we can share news and support each other as we act with hope in the face of the many challenges ahead.
St Luke’s attained (in 2017) the Bronze award of A Rocha’s EcoChurch Sustainabilty Scheme, which assessed our commitment to sustainability through our buildings, worship, community engagement and lifestyle. We are now close to satisfying the requirements for the Silver award.
St Luke’s organises and hosts a popular Upcycle & Repair Fair as part of St Albans’ Sustainability Festival. This involves many local community groups who are able to showcase everything from upcycled furniture, to bicycle and jewellery repairs.
St Luke’s participated in The Big Church Switch where we changed to 100% renewable electricity, mainly solar & wind. We’ll seek to do the same for gas when our contract comes up for renewal.
We take an active part with these local organisations:
Sustainable St Albans - getting stuck in with our local Transition Town project, working alongside people who care like us. Find your local Transition Town here.
Extinction Rebellion – getting our voices heard due to the urgency of the issues and lack of progress made so far. You can read more about getting active (and our resources for individuals and churches) at our Hope in Action website.
A few years ago, we produced our own Eco-Checklist, containing helpful information and tips to reduce our carbon footprint as individuals:
St Luke’s Eco-Checklist
Useful links:
Green Eatz - sustainable food choices for a green planet
Climate Stewards - helps you to offset unavoidable carbon emissions
St Albans Freecycle Group - give & get stuff for free, and help keep good stuff out of landfills
Sustainable St Albans - ordinary people working together to make St Albans District a more environmentally sustainable place to live