Eco Church
At HBC we are exploring what discipleship means within the current climate crisis; here is an overview of what we are doing:
Eco Church is a learning community of churches of all shapes and sizes open to all denominations. It provides a framework to support churches and their leadership to take practical action in caring for God’s earth, through the Eco Church survey, which covers five key areas of church life:
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Worship and teaching
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Buildings and energy
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Land and nature
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Community and global engagement
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Lifestyle
Eco Church provides resources to encourage improvement and gives awards when certain attainment levels have been achieved; thus helping to sustain impetus for change. Having signed up to the scheme, in 2022 HBC achieved the bronze award, and we are now working towards the silver.
Eco Church is coordinated by A Rocha UK, a Christian charity working to protect and restore the natural world and committed to equipping Christians and churches in the UK to care for the environment.
HBC has joined numerous other churches committed to demonstrating that the Gospel is good news for God's earth. We seek to follow a loving God who made the world, and who entrusts it to our care for ourselves and for future generations. We want our care of God's good creation to reflect our love for Him, the Creator, and our neighbours. We recognise that climate change is damaging fragile eco-systems worldwide, yet it is the poor, who have contributed least to the climate crisis, who are disproportionately affected.
We want to reflect God's heart for justice and his care for the poor in creation care. By taking simple steps as individuals and as a church we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint:
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reducing what we buy
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re-using as much as possible
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recycling
Why should Christians care for creation? Because it is rooted in scripture.
Read more about a Christian vision for creation.
The Eco Group at HBC comprises several of us who are keen to see the wider church membership engage more with the climate and nature crises, and the fundamental injustices these represent for the poor and vulnerable.
HBC is signed up to the Eco Church scheme and, having achieved the bronze level award in 2022, church members have agreed that we should work towards the silver. Achieving this will involve action by the church as a whole, and the role of the Eco Group is to facilitate this.
You can find more about what we at HBC have been doing by reading the Eco Group annual reports:
Those of us in the Eco Group are very happy to talk with church members about these issues, and we would love to hear your stories, suggestions, questions, and feedback. We welcome new members, and have a WhatsApp group for those interested in keeping in touch. Our email address is:
ecochurch.group@histonbaptist.org.uk
Here is a selection of the activities we have undertaken that support the Eco Church programme, some recent others ongoing, under each of the Eco Church categories:
Worship and teaching
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regular sermons and services
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prayer meetings
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monthly eco prayer in newsletter
Buildings and energy
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undertaking a carbon footprint of our premises
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switching to 100% renewable electricity
Land and nature
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wildflower areas and pollinator beds
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bird boxes, dead hedge and bug hotel
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implementing a Land Management Plan
Community and global engagement
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working with other local sustainability groups
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Christian Aid speaker, including a church breakfast
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hosting a Repair Cafe in the village
Lifestyle
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monthly eco tip in the newsletter
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publicising local eco events in the newsletter
The
Baptist Union Environmental Network holds regular regional zoom meetings to support churches. Members of HBC support these, as part of the Eastern Baptist Association (EBA).
In March 2025 the EBA adopted a
Sustainability Policy to assist it in translating into action its affirmation that mission includes 'caring for the earth' in the life of the EBA at regional and local levels.
As well as setting a target for the EBA to achieve net zero by 2033, the policy includes detailed proposals for their various activities, along with some really useful appendices with data illustrating:
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ethical banking
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waste reduction
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CO2 from various modes of transport
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CO2 produced per kg in the production of different types of food
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the burden of plastic waste
Christian organisations
Eco Church: website includes a wide range of short guides from Food to Fashion, and from Energy to Economics.
Tear Fund: headline campaign on tackling the plastics crisis
Christian Aid: Restore Campaign tackling greedy lenders and reckless polluters
BMS: offsetting impacts of carbon usage
Green Christian: publish a magazine and a series of useful leaflets
Ideas for small changes
Greenpeace: 101 ways to make a difference
Greenmatch: 40 ways to be more eco friendly
Tools to calculate our impact on the environment
Climate Hero: Personal carbon calculator
Climate Stewards: More detailed personal carbon footprint calculator
Local initiatives
Cambridge Carbon Footprint: advice on a range of local initiatives
HI Sustainability: Runs projects to promote sustainable living
HI Green Spaces: Local conservation charity
Farmers’ Market: third Saturday morning of the month at Histon Methodist Church
Histon Country Market: Friday mornings at HBC
Green Blue You: Ethical household products, based in Histon