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Congratulations, Chelsea Methodist Church!

We are pleased to announce that Chelsea Methodist Church was recently presented with an eco-congregation award! Some time ago, Chelsea Methodist was the first church to switch to the Green Electricity provider, Eco-tricity. The church has since undertaken a wide range of projects including transforming a barren internal church courtyard into a restful garden; recycling tetrapak cartons, mobile phones, postage stamps and printer cartridges; giving out ‘Green Tips' in church services, and providing food and shelter for homeless people during the winter. Alice Lambert talks to Lynette Cawthra , Chair of the church's Social Responsibility Committee, to find out how this urban church went about working for the award.

What made Chelsea Methodist Church decide to go for an Eco-Congregation award?

We decided to do it ages ago. We originally went for the Christian Ecology Link Millennium Certificate and decided to go from there. We were encouraged by the Eco-Congregation award team to look at the award broadly, which helped us make the decision to go for it. We were told that projects we were already undertaking, such as our work with homeless people, could contribute to the award. The broad, holistic nature of the award helped us to see its relevance to us as an urban church.

What was the length of time between deciding to go for the award and receiving it, and have you encountered any problems or difficulties along the way?

Getting on for four years. The award is made up of three elements: practical, community and spiritual. We found the spiritual element a bit more difficult than the first two as we are a very practical church, but we made a concerted effort to factor environmental issues into our services. One reason it took us a long time is because we wanted to make sure that everyone was on board; that we were an eco- congregation rather than a few enthusiastic individuals.

It was difficult to get people involved at the outset. As I have already said, we found the spiritual element of the award to be more difficult to incorporate.

What have you enjoyed the most about your involvement in the Eco-Congregation award?

Seeing people's enthusiasm growing. We made a big feature of our harvest services, and one year we announced that we would have a harvest of tetrapak cartons (juice, soup, milk etc). It is possible to recycle those cartons, but most councils don't so they just take up lots of room in landfill sites. We said we'd send them all off together to a mill (which recycles them - amazingly - into brown paper bags). I kept standing up every Sunday encouraging people to bring tetrapaks that we would then recycle. On Harvest Festival Sunday loads of people brought hundreds of cartons up to the front, and the children flattened the ones that needed flattening by stamping on them.

How did you go about raising awareness within the congregation, and getting people involved?

We have regularly publicised it in the church newsletter. We also have a Green Tip session in the Sunday service every week. I subscribe to the Friends of the Earth email alert, which is a useful source for environmental tips to give people. So we just drip dripped every week, raising awareness. We made sure that embedded in every service -- embedded among the spiritual aspects of the service -- was an ecological message. Our minister felt that this was very important. People have come up to me after services and said how they have started using the green tips, which has been encouraging! We also compiled a portfolio of evidence for the Eco-Congregation assessors, which included sticking in photos and writing about activities, and we got lots of people involved in that.

Could you give me an example of a Green Tip?

Turn off the taps while brushing your teeth! [Turning the taps off while you brush your teeth can save up to 5 litres a minute! If the entire adult population of England and Wales did likewise, this could save a total of 180 mega litres a day – enough to supply nearly 500,000 houses. http://www.generous.org.uk]

What advice would you give to other churches thinking about going for the Eco-Congregation award?

The good thing about the Eco-Congregation award is that it is general enough to be tailored to a church's particular situation. We are an urban congregation with no green space, yet we were able to take part in the scheme.

I would advise churches to get as many people involved as possible early on. I would get it generally known across the congregation and get kids involved too. Try to get lots of different people to take control of different aspects of the campaign so that it won't just be a few individuals doing the whole thing.

What have you got planned for the future?

We are investigating whether we can install solar panels on the flat bit of the church roof, to heat the water for the showers our homeless guests use. We are also carrying out a building project in the basement. There is someone on the steering group who will keep us aware of sustainable things we should be doing – i.e. what kind of heating, lighting and furnishings we should use.

How has the church changed as a result of its involvement in the project?

I think on a practical level the staff and volunteers are more aware of energy use and recycling. Individuals' behaviour has also changed in that respect. We have developed a deeper spiritual understanding of issues to do with the stewardship of the Earth.

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