God created the world ‘very good’, and it’s humanity’s privilege to use and enjoy it.
It’s also humanity’s duty to care for it and use it so that it is available for future generations. Sadly our sin – selfishness and greed – have messed that up in a big way.
As God’s people, we want to show his love for others and for the world he’s made. We want to play our part as individuals, in our church, parish and town, and also as citizens of the world.
We are looking for one or two people to join our small Creation Care Group which leads St Mary’s efforts to make the church more creation-friendly. If you are interested, please contact a member of the group.
We also have a Facebook group which will keep you updated with all our latest news and information – you can find it by clicking HERE
Newsletters
Updates
Churchyard
We work with St Neots Town Council to make the Churchyard a welcoming place for both people and wildlife. We’re grateful for many volunteers who help to maintain it.
We are delighted that the Wildlife Trusts have given us the bronze award of the Cambridgeshire Churchyard Conservation Award Scheme.
See the Churchyard page for more information, or if you’d like to help care for it.
Resources
Practical action
- ‘Putting it into Practice’. St Marys has its own leaflet listing some of the practical responses we can each make to reduce the harm we do to the environment Practical Application Leaflet
- To set your household a target, and work towards bronze, silver or gold levels, go to creationcare.org.uk. If you sign up, please link yourself to ‘St Mary’s, Eaton Socon
- A wealth of helpful leaflets are available at arocha.org.uk/resources. Topics include auditing your lifestyle, Fairtrade, fashion, your car, your food, your money, and many more.
Reading
There are lots of books that help us to understand the problems, to gain a clearer Christian perspective, and with practical ideas for our own lives.
These two are recommended for an introduction:
L is for Lifestyle by Ruth Valerio – chatty bite-sized chapters of Christian reflection and practical advice (IVP revised 2019)
Planetwise by Dave Bookless – a readable survey of the Biblical basics (IVP 2008)
These and others are available to borrow from Church members. Books to read
Study material
- Creation Care Videos. Short videos outlining key issues and a Christian response. Extracts were shown in our Church services in September 2020. The series can be viewed by clicking on either of the following links
Lausanne Global Classroom Website or YouTube - Study Guide. This study guide will help groups or individuals to get to grips with the videos
Study Guide
Creation Care Group
A small Creation Care Group has been established by the PCC to apply creation care principles to the life of St Marys.
It aims to help both St Marys as an organization, and its members as individuals, to show love, care and respect for God’s creation as an essential part of Christian discipleship. St Marys is a member of A Rocha’s Eco Church scheme and received their bronze award in May 2021. We received the silver award in January 2023 in recognition of our further progress in making creation care part of the life of the Church.
The members are James Faulkner, Anthony Harris, Audrey Hedges, Roger Peppiatt and Margaret Tabone.
Creation Care Group – Mission Statement
We would be pleased to hear your views and suggestions – please email to creationcare@eatonsocon.org or leave a voicemail message on 01480 352154 (church office).
