Earth be Glad. Programme of St John's Church Edinburgh

We have been showcasing examples of different wasy of being an eco-congregation. here is the contribution of Ben Murray from St John's Church, Edinburgh.

Almost three years ago, a group of volunteers within St John’s Church developed a programme entitled Earth be Glad. At its heart was an online carbon monitoring tool that enabled users to log in and enter their gas and electricity meter readings, in the hope that this simple action would stimulate a greater awareness of home energy use and encourage more energy efficient behaviour. Early results were promising, with significant reductions in the average user’s energy consumption.

But this pilot project struggled to attract more than a fairly small minority of the congregation, and St Johns secured financial support from the Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund in order to develop the project further. In addition to setting up an improved website and online carbon monitoring tool, the project will work with partner organisations (including Changeworks and the Energy Saving Trust) to provide advice and resources to help members cut their carbon footprints. It is hoped that the project will be able to engage with a significant proportion of the St John’s congregation and ultimately be rolled out within other faith communities.

The development of Earth be Glad is being led by Ben Murray and assisted by Eleanor Harris, who was involved in the original pilot project and has been a member of St John’s Church for some years. Ben has worked as a marine engineer on nuclear submarines, an environmental activist and campaigner with Greenpeace and as a parliamentary policy advisor for the Scottish Green Party. Eleanor was previously co-ordinator of Eco-Congregation Scotland and is web editor for European Christian Environmental Network .

More blog posts will follow over the coming months as the project is developed.