Bronze Eco Church Award for the Chapel

St Catharine’s College Chapel has won a Bronze Award from Eco Church, a project run by A Rocha UK in partnership with Christian Aid, The Church of England, The Methodist Church, Tearfund, The United Reformed Church and Allchurches Trust Limited.

A Rocha UK is a Christian charity working for the protection and restoration of the natural world and committed to equipping Christians and churches in the UK to care for the environment. The overall aim of the Eco Church award scheme is to celebrate the ways that church communities have been engaging with caring for the Earth as a key part of the Christian faith. The scheme encourages churches to attain and improve standards across five key areas:

• Worship and teaching
• Management of church buildings
• Management of church land
• Community and global engagement
• Lifestyle

There are three levels of award – Bronze, Silver and Gold – and St Catharine’s had to demonstrate that the Chapel had attained the required standard across all relevant areas to qualify for a Bronze Award.

The Rev'd Ally Barrett (2019), Fellow and Dean of Chapel at St Catharine’s, commented:

“I want to thank A Rocha UK for recognising and encouraging our efforts in Chapel. The renewal of the Chapel lighting to make it more energy efficient, together with reducing our consumption and increasing our recycling of both paper and candles, is in line with the College’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy. Environmental issues are also now regularly included in our prayers, there is a new area for reflection on faith, spirituality and the environment in the Chapel, and the sermon series in Lent Term 2023 will be dedicated to exploring sustainability through an intersectional lens. The Bronze Eco Church Award spurs us on to do more to care for the environment and we look forward to working towards achieving a Silver Award in the not-too-distant future.”

The application process was supported by group representing different parts of the St Catharine’s community, with Ally working alongside student and staff representatives. As the new academic year approaches, she is inviting expressions of interest from students, staff and Fellows who would like to contribute towards the next phase in the process. Please contact chaplain@caths.cam.ac.uk for further details.