Northampton District gets its first A Rocha Gold Award
19 June 2025
On Sunday 8 June, a service with Creation Care theme and Junior Church climate justice-themed activities, followed by a lunch with a Pudding Party, celebrated Wesley Memorial Church in the Oxford Circuit’s recent A Rocha Gold Award last month.
“Where does the dirty sock go?” Asked Mel to the child who had picked the image whilst three teenagers dressed as mixed recycling, general waste and food waste were waiting for the answer. The all-aged talk during the service brought laughter (when the ‘bins’ sauntered with excitement when a child brought their rubbish to them) and information (cleaned socks cannot go to mixed recycling but can be recycled elsewhere).
“Today, we are celebrating our Eco Church award, Pentecost – the arrival of the Spirit – and God’s creation. Members of the Eco Church group summarised their work and our young people lead the all-age talk, and we also had a creation-themed liturgy for communion to honour God's work in creation,” says Revd Miriam Moul, Superintendent Minister, Oxford Methodist Circuit.
Eco-friendly and accessible
“Over the years, we worked steadily to improve things like our recycling, changing lightbulbs, toilet paper, bike racks and the energy efficiency of our building,” explains Jo, the Eco church champion and church administrator. These changes have benefited the congregation and the numerous community groups that use the premises.
Wesley Memorial Church is the first church in Oxford and the Northampton District to receive a Gold Award. Its journey started in 2019 when the church registered and got its Bronze Award fairly quickly. Wesley Memorial Church is a Grade 2 listed building which came with some challenges that the steering group overcame thanks to their motivation and the help of the Conservation Officer.
“Bit by bit, we have improved the building: such as replacing all the single-glazed windows with double-glazed windows and improving the insulation above the church hall roof. We are now looking at installing solar panels,” adds Derek, Chairman of the Open Doors project group.
Alongside their eco work, the group also ensured the building was accessible for wheelchairs notably with wide corridors and sloops.
A garden for the gold
Under the June sun, the raised beds and plants at the front and the back. What truly set Wesley Memorial Church apart and got them the Gold is their garden. Despite lacking land – as many Methodist churches do – they optimised what they had.
“The back of the church is tarmac and walls but we had the vision to start a garden there. We added planters and pots garden to encourage wildlife; we also have a bug hotel. The front garden was there already but we removed the trellis and it’s now open to the street,” says Anne who is part of the garden group.
The space is now widely used for people on their lunch break or seeking peace. More importantly, the garden and the sustainable activities offered by the church engage the congregation. “Parents are passionate about creating a better environment for the future for their children; children are keenly aware of the need for them to be part of the journey of making this an eco-church and wanting the world to be right when they are older,” says Mary, who is involved with Junior Church.