Eco Church Appeal 2021
Kia ora,
A few weeks ago, we sent out our Annual Report for 2020/21. It has been encouraging to look back over the last year and see all that has been accomplished. With COVID-19 disruptions it has been a tumultuous year. But we have also seen some exciting new developments open up.
We are delighted that we’ve been able to put more energy into Eco Church NZ – our church engagement initiative that encourages congregations to recognise how their faith relates to conservation and care of creation and resources them to implement practical changes.
The Tribe Church, Masterton
Sometimes we’re asked: Why engage with churches?
Our first and primary response is that A Rocha as a Christian organisation believes that churches have the ability to be agents of change and hope for a restored creation. Churches can be places where we celebrate this story and inspire action!
The New Zealand government is committed to making a big transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This radical transformation of our economy will affect every area of our lives including the way we travel, eat, consume energy and resources, and dispose of waste. This transition will involve significant changes across government, education, business, farming and domestic life.
We think that churches should not be left behind, especially when Christians are responding out of a theological imperative to care for God’s good creation. Churches and Christian leaders can play a vital role in this national and international transition with grace, love, compassion and hope.
We’re engaging with churches because we recognise that the teaching and shared activities within churches inform how Christians understand their responsibilities to creation as foundational to their faith. If church life is formational, then resourcing churches to support, train, teach and enable Christian leaders to undertake creation care is vital.
We are passionate about empowering people – especially young people – to become leaders and drivers in the environmental / conservation movement. We are excited about the potential for our church communities to be gardeners and guardians of God’s amazing earth.
Just over a year since we started the Eco Church NZ project, we now have 23 churches and 2 denominational partners in the network spread across the motu, and more churches are getting ready to join the whānau. Through a partnership with Pare Kore, a Māori zero-waste organisation, and funding support from councils in Auckland and Christchurch, we have already connected with over 150 Christian leaders to promote zero waste in churches. We are excited by this energetic response. And we’re even more excited to hear the stories of change, healing and restoration that churches are sharing. We encourage you to read some of these stories and be inspired yourself!
Zero Waste Workshop for Churches, Christchurch
What we have also found is that eco churches are thriving especially in areas where they are supported by an Eco Church community coordinator. For example, in Christchurch, thanks to the hard work and leadership of local leader Silvia Purdie, we have a number of active eco churches all doing their bit to care for the environment. And in Wellington, where we’ve been able to create a 6-month Eco Church community coordinator role for Amy Ross – eco churches are being supported and the network and partnerships are growing. We have other eco churches scattered throughout the North and South Islands, including in Auckland, Masterton, Greymouth, Alexandra and Dunedin – and we need further financial support to grow the work in other regions. Our goal is to expand this network with an Eco Church community coordinator in every region in Aotearoa within the next 5 years.
A Rocha has been active in Aotearoa for more than 10 years now. Over that time, our pool of supporters who give regularly to A Rocha has been quite steady. We are really grateful for all our donors. However, in order to grow the Eco Church network, we need to expand our donor base. We particularly need new regular givers, as the regular income enables us to plan ahead, including offering longer-term employment to our staff team. This will have a direct impact on the quality and reach of our work with churches across the country.
Would you and/or your church consider giving regularly to A Rocha? If we are able to attract 100 new regular donors to give $50 per month on an ongoing basis, we’d be able to guarantee FOUR more part-time Eco Church coordinators in the regions. This would be a huge boost to our work!
We will send out our brand new snazzy A Rocha T-shirt to every new regular donor who pledges to give $50 a month (or more!) on an ongoing basis.
My hope is that you will help build the Eco Church fund for A Rocha’s work across Aotearoa. We want to see church communities become active participants and leaders in conservation. We would love for you to partner with us in this vision. If you have not already, please do consider becoming a supporter.
Ngā mihi maioha,
Kristel
Anglican Diocese of Auckland Sustainability Champions Workshop with sessions from ARANZ and Para Kore on zero waste.