Lower Hutt Anglicans marked this year’s Season of Creation with a sustainable twist – replacing balloons and single-use decorations with community-made bunting crafted from repurposed fabric. Parishioners of all ages decorated pieces with images of faith, nature, and care for creation. The finished bunting now hangs in the church, a colourful symbol of creativity, sustainability, and shared responsibility for our common home.

At the Napier Repair Café, there’s a wonderful buzz as volunteers and visitors gather each month to bring broken items back to life – from bikes and jewellery to well-loved household treasures. For Maree Diamond, from the Catholic Parish of Napier’s Care of Creation group, being part of the team is a joyful way to care for creation and connect with her community. Now in its third year, the Café continues to grow as a place of sharing, learning, and restoration – a reminder that small acts of repair can make a big difference.

All Saints Anglican Church in Taradale, Napier has made space for a community recycling centre in their building. Taking advantage of being in a central and accessible place in their suburb, All Saints has partnered with Sustainable HB (Hawkes Bay) to create a recycling centre that is well organised, with well-labelled shelves and crates and even explanations of what happens to the materials that are collected!

As an expression of their commitment to care for the environment, the St Columba Havelock North Eco Group (SCHNEG) have launched an awareness and advocacy campaign focused on reducing the use of single-use plastics. The campaign invites eco churches to work together to promote awareness regarding soft plastics and responsible practices in recycling. This initiative not only helps protect the planet but also fosters a spirit of unity and responsibility — reminding everyone that caring for creation is a shared mission. Read on as the SCHNEG team outlines the issue and invites churches to join with them to take action.

St Paul's Symonds Street is on a journey to reduce the number of disposable cups they use on Sundays. One Sunday parishioners were presented with a string of disposable cups that stretched about 30 meters in length to help create awareness about the amount of waste that was being generated by using disposable cups.

Onewa Christian Community in Birkenhead hosts Repair Cafés 3-4 times a year, in conjunction with Highbury House, the Birkenhead Community Centre.  They enjoy the camaraderie and great atmosphere when mixing with the public. Most of the volunteers come back time and time again. Repairs are free but a koha is accepted for the morning tea, the proceeds of which are given to De Paul House in Northcote.

Floral arrangements have long been an important expression in many churches, but in recent years, there has been an increase in using materials and techniques that contribute to waste, such as floral foam, plastic packaging, and chemically treated plants. Knowing that floral foam bricks take time to decompose, the florists from St Paul’s Presbyterian in Napier were keen to look at alternatives.

Waitakere Salvation Army shares with us what took place during their Eco Church launch service in September during Season of Creation and how the church is tackling the issue of food waste as their first Eco Church initiative.

Since April this year, every Tuesday parishioners from St Andrew’s on The Terrace join representatives from other religious groups for a peaceful lunchtime protest on Parliament grounds. Holding placards that draw attention to the damning impact of fossil fuels, the weekly vigil is just one of several sustainable and environmentally sensitive  initiatives being undertaken by the parish.

We're in the 2024 Season of Creation and on topic last Sunday we "waste"ed time with Para Kore (Zero Waste)... We enjoyed a great visit from Paul Murray who shared great stuff in our service on the problem of what we do with all of our waste, starting with the excess we generate at the outset.

Church on Ingestre in Whanganui found out about the RAD initiative through their well-established partnership with Te Ora Hou Whanganui and saw it as a great opportunity to empower youth to be involved in a project with a great kaupapa. Working collaboratively with Te Ora Hou, they've created space at their church for RAD refurbishing workshops. At these workshops, young people learn to repair and refurbish devices, gaining valuable technical skills, with adults alongside providing encouragement and support.

Takapuna Methodist Church and the Puriri Centre are engaged in a journey towards sustainability that honours the profound interconnectedness between humanity and te taiao (the environment). Our recent "Arotakenga Para | Waste Check" initiative, is a significant step in our commitment to reducing waste and safeguarding our environment as a key element of our spiritual and community practices.