British churches strive to go green

Catholic Online
(www.catholic.org)
London

Catholic churches have a responsibility to be greener, work to cut energy consumption, and fight the effects of climate change, said a British cardinal.

Greener churches are simply a reflection of the Church's belief that creation is a gift from God, said Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.

In response to the launch of an interdenominational booklet, For Creed and Creation: A Simple Guidebook for Running a Greener Church," Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop of Westminster, endorsed the environmental guide that will be distributed to 4,000 churches.

The "green" guide has the support of the Catholic Church in Britain as well as Anglican, Orthodox, and Protestant churches and organizations.

God's creation

"It is God's creation," Murphy-O'Connor said of the natural order. "We must all take care of it."

He said that ecumenical effort representing the great diversity within the London Christian churches "makes clear that as followers of Jesus we all have a part to play in increasing awareness of the damaging effects of climate change on creation and human life."

The guide provides advice on issues from basic ways of reducing heating bills, such as fitting insulation and installing energy efficient lighting, to introducing car-sharing programs for church services, setting up recycling programs and encouraging local children to learn about the environment and take a role in protecting it.

Take responsibility

"A whole host of scientific studies have made clear that it is no longer possible to find excuses for doing nothing,"said Anglican Bishop Richard Chartres of London, chair of the area's Church leaders groups. . "Equally, it is not enough to point the finger of blame at others and to demand that somebody else should do something."

Churches can have an impact on the issue of environment conservation, said British government Environment Secretary David Miliband. "For the sake of future generations we all need to take action now to reduce our consumption and move to a low-carbon economy.

Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 -- Western Catholic Reporter