Keynsham Methodist Church - Eco Matters
Keynsham Methodist Churchs 20:20 Vision Statement includes the aim that we will strive for a fairer, greener world. We say that we will do that by expanding our mission projects, becoming a Fairtrade church and becoming an Eco-congregation.
The church council has appointed an Eco Matters group to consider the environmental aims and to lead the actions of the church. The group meets regularly and reports to the church council. Articles on environmental matters are regularly included in the church magazine, and there is a notice board at each centre devoted
to environmental matters which is regularly updated. The weekly newsletter also includes a regular green tip.
We aim to use fairly traded goods wherever possible for refreshments and for the tea and coffee provided Monday to Saturday at the Victoria centre. We try to recycle as much as possible and encourage those who use our premises to do the same by providing recycling boxes at the Key Centre.
We have adopted the motto The Earth is The Lord which heads up our noticeboards and guides our meetings.
In 2011 the church was granted an Eco-Congregation award. You can find out more about the award by viewing the What is an Eco Congregation page or you can visit the Eco-Congregation website.
A small group led by Revd Phil Hewett has produced guidance for preachers on the use of environmental themes in the weekly lectionary. It provides comments on the lectionary readings for each week, and on more general environmental themes. It has been made available to the preachers in the North East Somerset and Bath Circuit, and to a wider readership. Around 100 preachers now receive a monthly mailing, and we are happy for others to use it.
At Keynsham a number of sermons have been preached on environmental themes. You can read a selection of these below: