Saffron Walden Methodist Church is the first Church in Essex to have gained an EcoCongregation Award.
The scheme is run by “Churches Together” in conjunction with “Keep Britain Tidy Campaign“ and is given to Churches that have:

Satisfactorily worked through an environmental check up.

Connected environmental issues with the Christian Faith in the life of the Church.

Carried out some practical initiatives to show our care of God’s wonderful Creation, a care part of Christian Discipleship.

Worked with and had a practical impact on their local community.

Creation Care features regularly in worship for young and old and in 2002 the Congregation had a monthly challenge e.g. Buying fairly traded goods and eco-friendly cleaning agents; buying locally grown produce, changing to long life electric bulbs where practical, turning electrical appliances off, not leaving on “standby”.
Our local authority has a very good doorstep recycling collection and centre and our congregation was challenged to use them.
However there were many recyclable things which were not covered by the local authority so we set about finding outlets, local where possible, for as many of these recyclable items as we could.
A collection point was set up at the back of the church under the EcoCongregation notice board. One member of the “Green Team” is responsible for keeping it tidy and the distribution to the various outlets and charities.
We regularly pass on old spectacles, used stamps, ink cartridges, aluminium foil, mobile phones, computers, sewing and knitting materials and good clothes. We have rather rested on our laurels in 2003 apart from the spiritual side and our recycling initiatives.ase Two” in 2004 to ensure we retain our award in two years time.