Ponsonby Baptist Church shares their eco-church journey and in particular how they used the 360°Carbon Calculator tool to understand their emissions and communicate them to their congregation. They also discuss how they are strategising ways to reduce and offset their emissions.

The Eco Group of All Saints, Howick, has been working hard to encourage more sustainable living in the community. Beginning in August of 2023, we’ve had conversations around the parish to get a sense of what was needed. Read on to find out what initiatives they’re starting with at All Saints!

Read about the Cityside Travelling Nativity Set - a Cityside Baptist tradition that began in 2013. The Nativity set starts its journey by being handed over to the initial hosts during the service on the first Sunday of Advent. There is a liturgy for the giver and the receiver to say during the process of handing over. The nativity set will stay with the hosts for one or two nights before they pass it on to the next recipients, continuing until it arrives back at Cityside on Christmas Eve.

All Saints Ponsonby recently organised a Market Day which included a dedication of their new community garden that has been in development since late last year.

As part of the Simplify series at Massey Community Church, members in our Sustainability Group took turns to produce a video about an aspect of their own sustainability journey. There are videos on groceries, transport, clothes shopping, making things at home, being sustainable on a budget, and more.

Late in 2020 All Saints Anglican Church in Ponsonby formed an eco-committee and went through the Eco Church self-assessment worksheet to ascertain areas to begin working on. A number of areas were identified through the worksheet, with the establishment of a community garden being determined as the most important. We liked the idea of a community garden because the church had available land, it is a very visible project and one of our church members has the expertise to make it happen.

Karakia for our Climate (K4C) is a group of followers of Jesus, looking to empower the Church in supporting those who are lobbying for climate justice. In April, a day before the Schools Strike 4 Climate, Karakia for our Climate organised prayer vigils in Te Whanganui-a-tara Wellington, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Ōtepoti Dunedin, joining as partners in both prayer and action. They prayed about climate change: for courage, for hope, for creative solutions, for unity, for justice.

The Anglican Diocese of Auckland, a denominational partner of Eco Church NZ, has an ongoing commitment to reduce their carbon footprint and care for creation. As part of this commitment, the diocesan staff organised a half-day planting working bee on 12 May at Matuku Link. Fifteen diocesan staff from Neligan House attended the event. They were joined by clergy from Henderson-Swanson Parish.

In November 2019, ADJust - Diocese of Auckland Young Anglicans for Social Justice, put out to churches in the Auckland Anglican Diocese a "Green Up and Give Challenge". St John’s Anglican Royal Oak took up this challenge and set up a Pātaka Kai (community pantry) and community garden which is now contributing greens to their monthly community meals. Cathy Bi-Riley, the Sustainability Fieldworker from the Anglican Diocese of Auckland visited the church and talked to Sarah Pidgeon from the gardening team who shared with us their small beginnings and future hopes!

ARANZ trustee, Stephen Pattemore was invited to speak at Shore Grace church on Sunday 28 March 2021 to celebrate their joining the journey of becoming an Eco Church. On the Sunday we joined them, they were running one of their informal Café services entitled a ‘Neighbours Day Café’ – community plant swap.

In November 2019, ADJust - Diocese of Auckland Young Anglicans for Social Justice, put out to churches in the Auckland Anglican Diocese a "Green Up and Give Challenge". The idea of the challenge was for churches to explore starting a community garden, starting a compost, or starting a Pātaka Kai over the season of advent. Below are a few stories from the Green Up and Give Challenge, courtesy of ADJust.

In 2019, our church, Massey Community Church in West Auckland, ran a four week series entitled ‘Creation Care’. For the first time in my long experience of church, I encountered in-depth teaching on the biblical mandate we have as followers of Jesus to care for creation – the earth as well as its people.