Sustainability

The Anglican Church’s 5th Mark of Mission:

To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth

Our eco values and practices

We see care for the Earth as part of Christ’s mission and we feel called to grow in faith through caring for creation

  • We recycle and have clear recycling signage in our kitchens

  • We grow nectarines, apples, peaches, and raspberries in an orchard at St Andrew’s Church

  • The local community uses some of St Andrew’s Church grounds to grow veges

  • Most of the lighting at St Stephen’s has been replaced with LEDs

  • We financially support Anglican Missions; an international development, mission and aid agency. They provide humanitarian work following natural disasters which are being exacerbated by climate change and in areas like the Pacific that are being impacted by rising sea levels.

  • Whenever possible, meals provided by our church include a vegetarian and/or vegan option

  • We have retreat days a few times a year. Retreats are a time for prayer, reflection, some mental space and an opportunity to connect with nature.

  • We have special services during the year that highlight creation care; Spring Service, Arbor Day and Sea Sunday

  • Together with the wider Anglican church, church properties and investments are ethically invested by the Church Property trustees, who make sure investments are not made with companies that have poor environmental or exploitative labour practices.

Our ideas for the future

  • We intend to further investigate and fix leaks in church water supplies to reduce wasting valuable water resources

  • We are looking to host markets where second hand items can be sold

  • We are going to explore installing a free community pantry and book exchange on church grounds

  • We are considering being a recycling collection point for batteries

  • We are looking in to conducting a full assessment of our Sustainability practices using the assessment framework provided by Eco Church NZ

  • We are going to consider joining the Eco Church NZ network