Working United Reformed Church (URC) has become the 51st Gold Eco Church in England and Wales.
The award was given by the Christian conservation charity A Rocha UK, and reflects Woking URC’s commitment to walk in step with nature and put creation care at the heart of what they do.
With more than 3,500 Eco Churches gaining an award at one of the three levels, Gold, Silver and Bronze, the Gold award is itself a prestigious and impressive achievement.
Woking URC is a large and lively urban church that has very strong community links. Forward thinking in their building projects include adaptations to reduce energy use and the installation of solar panels. The church also manages the land around its building to support biodiversity and offers a tranquil space for nearby residents and visitors.
Woking URC has sought to engage children and young people in the development of their outside space and continue to learn and grow as a worshipping community as they deepen their understanding of God’s creation at special services and events. The assessors for the award particularly noted the church’s future plans to reach Net Zero and engagement with their local MP and councillors, demonstrating their commitment to care for the environment and Christian responsibility to nurture and protect God’s earth.
Woking URC Green Team members, Chris and Mary Temple said: “We are delighted that the assessors from A Rocha thought the efforts of our church family over the last ten years sufficiently worthy to achieve the first Gold award to a church in the Wessex Synod although we recognise that this is not the end of the journey.
“Working towards the Gold Award has been an amazing team effort with plenty of fun and laughter along the way. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Wessex Synod for a number of projects which has enabled Woking URC to install added insulation, LEDs, solar panels and batteries; also Will Forster, now Woking’s MP, who made funds available from his Surrey County Council allocation to provide battery storage for the panels.”
A Rocha UK aims to equip churches and individuals to create a movement to help restore biodiversity at a local level in this critical decade for the climate. Now, in its ninth year, the Eco Church award scheme brings together a national community of churches addressing the environmental crisis, using a common framework and an online toolkit to learn and speak up together. The first Eco Church award was given to Hilfield Friary, Dorchester back in June 2016. There are now more than 7,000 churches registered with Eco Church – nearly 18% of churches in England and Wales. By 2025, A Rocha UK aims to engage at least 25%, or 10,000 churches, in ongoing efforts to protect nature and address climate change through the free programme.
Helen Stephens, Church Relations Manager, explained “Our huge congratulations to Woking URC on their well-deserved Gold Eco Church award. Everything about their approach sets them out as an exemplar of what it means to be a gold awarded church. They have demonstrated significant and steady progress on the environment since 2013. What started with one person has grown into a strong and strategically thinking Green Team. It’s so encouraging to hear that they have been blessed as a church community through developing a deeper understanding of what it means to love God’s creation and for this to become truly integrated into who they are as a church. There is still so much for us all to do, as they recognise but in the meantime, we hope they enjoy celebrating this award and seeing others inspired to join them in taking action to care for this amazing world.”
Revd Lucy Brierley, Minister of Woking URC, added: “I’m thrilled that Woking URC has received this award thanks to the hard work of our Green Team. More importantly, this award recognises that stewardship of the creation God has given us is part of our work and witness to the community around us. This is a wonderful recognition of our commitment to caring for our church, community and planet.”