St Mary's Episcopal Church, Dunblane

Kate Nash from St Mary's Episcopal Church in Dunbalne has sent us this account of the work being done at her church. I am sure that it will be an inspiration for many churches.

January 2010

As I write this blog the temperature outside is well below freezing, and the ground is covered with snow, several centimetres deep. It is a beautiful scene. This so far has been the coldest winter for several decades and the sceptics are busy muttering about the claims of climate change on our planet. It is a small minded view, as an article in The Guardian has stated this week; the most basic meteorology is that weather is not the same as climate and single events are not the same as trends. Martyn Brown, writing in The Express states “one of the worst winters for decades in this country is not the same as the world, where in parts the temperature is above average at this time.”

In 2006 when St Mary’s Episcopal Church decided to join the Eco-Congregation movement, it was not only the prospect of the problems of climate change affecting our planet, although this was certainly a major concern. It was also a wake up call that we are all in some way responsible for caring for our environment. Here in Dunblane we are surrounded by some of the most stunning scenery in the UK. We must treat it with respect.

Dave Bookless writes in A Rocha (Spring 2006) “There is no excuse for environmental exploitation, we are accountable to the Creator. There is no theological ground for humanity having ‘the right’ to do what it pleases with the natural order.”

Here in St Mary’s in 2006 we started off our eco-congregation journey with a Harvest Festival service, celebrating creation with hymns and prayers. Special Eco services since have involved our younger members performing the play “Planet Doctor”.
The small renovated chapel on the Kilbryde estate on the outskirts of Dunblane was the venue for our Environment Week service. Most of us walked or cycled along the beautiful lanes to this event.

We have also celebrated birds during the RSBP National Bird Watch week with a special service, after which we placed bird boxes around the church
grounds. More attention has been paid to recycling and cutting down on waste, and buying cleaning products which are eco friendly, and catering goods from Fair Trade outlets.

An informative visit to a local Wind Farm has given us an insight into renewable energy and we are in contact with the newly formed Dunblane Transition Town movement, which has recently been successful in obtaining a government grant of £266,000. This will enable the provision of energy saving advice to every household in the town, with the aim of fully insulating every home.

The youngest members of our church and adjoining school have been encouraged to grow plants. At a school assembly in the Autumn we had a short service with the theme of ‘seeds’ The children were encouraged to collect (under adult supervision) as many seeds as they could find. In the Spring we hope to organise a seed planting afternoon. In Lent last year they researched endangered species and placed pictures of these on a poster of Noah’s Ark.

There is still plenty of room for improvement. As a society we are all too reliant on our cars. It is difficult to decide to walk or cycle when the weather is abysmal. Our church and Hall are heated by an antiquated and often unreliable form of heating. Each year costs are rising, and there is a pressing need to change this. There are grants, but a large project like this will need an enormous amount of money. However investigations will go ahead and we hope for a positive outcome.

The Right Reverend Bill Hewitt, Moderator of the Church of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland writing in The Herald (23rd December 2009) stated that climate change is the single biggest challenge to humanity’s stewardship of the Earth and so far we are failing the test. It is a moral issue and it is in our hands to change the way we treat our planet. If government groups cannot lead, then faith groups must step forward. We must show, community by community, that where governments have failed, the people can succeed.