As part of the Simplify series at Massey Community Church, members in our Sustainability Group took turns to produce a video about an aspect of their own sustainability journey. There are videos on groceries, transport, clothes shopping, making things at home, being sustainable on a budget, and more.

At Wellington South Baptist Church we’ve been imagining new ways to engage with our local community, to share something of God’s amazing reconciling vision for the world. This past Sunday, we partnered with a local charity, EkeRua/ReBicycle, to host a ‘Free Bike Fix Up/Repair/Swap’ event. After a shorter ‘normal’ service on the Sunday morning, we transitioned into a space of welcome for whoever was going to attend, including the bike workshop, a morning tea spread, and a place for kids to hang out while their (or their parent’s) bikes were getting fixed up!

How do we strengthen and nourish our young people who care about the environment in their faith? A group of us gathered for this online kōrero organised by Eco Church NZ to hear from guest speakers - Elke Keeling, Natalie Duchesne and James Beck - and explore what they have found to be helpful and unhelpful. It was an inspiring session hearing about ideas and resources available to support ecological discipleship in our children and youth.

At St Peter’s Anglican Church in Kaikōura, we have been privileged to help some of our local endangered birds this autumn. Kaikōura is home to the endangered Hutton’s Shearwater / Kaikōura tītī (Puffinus huttoni). Crash landings or ‘fallout’ of Hutton’s Shearwaters in the Kaikōura township is frequent, as the fledglings find their way to the sea at night. St Peter’s parishioners take an active role in patrolling for and rescuing the birds at night throughout this season.

‘How can church building projects be more sustainable and low carbon?’ was the question participants explored together in the recent A Rocha Eco Church kōrero on 24 March 2022. Participants from around the motu who are interested or involved in church building projects met together online to discuss experiences and options. The two key presenters were Caitlyn Lee, an architectural graduate working in the sustainable building industry, with experience and training in materials research, and Geoffrey Lee, project manager of Te Korōria - Karori Anglican’s new build project.

Late in 2020 All Saints Anglican Church in Ponsonby formed an eco-committee and went through the Eco Church self-assessment worksheet to ascertain areas to begin working on. A number of areas were identified through the worksheet, with the establishment of a community garden being determined as the most important. We liked the idea of a community garden because the church had available land, it is a very visible project and one of our church members has the expertise to make it happen.

St Michael’s Anglican Church in Kelburn joined the Eco Church whānau in Dec 2021. It was not till March 2022 that they officially launched Eco Church at one of their services. Read on to find out some highlights from their Eco Church launch service which included presentations from their local community conservation group, student advocacy action for free fares, an eco quiz and a low-waste morning tea!

During 2021 Tawa Anglican Church became an Eco Church, making a corporate statement that we want to actively care for God’s earth as an integral part of our mission. We were pleased to join the Eco Church movement to access support and resources as well as a connection to a network of other Eco Churches throughout Aotearoa. We share with you some of our initial action and longer-term goals.

After the May 2021 floods in Canterbury, the Papanui Baptist Earthcare Group checked on the riparian planting they did along the Ōtukaikino Stream in Sept 2020. They were relieved to find that their trees survived well, and are in fact thriving under a fresh bed of silt, and the first hints of new leaves are starting to appear!

At Pauatahanui Anglican parish, one of our four core values is legacy. For many years prior to the launch of Eco Church, a group called God’s Earth Our Home operated within the parish, fostering a deep spiritual sense of ecological responsibility within parishioners and nurturing environmental action. This provided a natural launching pad for the parish to join the Eco Church movement at the start of 2021.

At St. Peter's Anglican in Kaikōura we had our Blessing of the Animals service on Sunday. In addition to blessing the nine dogs and one cat present (and the domestic animals not present) we blessed, at a distance, the wild animals that call Kaikōura home, including the dotterels/tūturiwhatu, hutton's shearwaters/tītī, little blue penguins/kororā, and hector's dolphins.

Girls Zone’s Got WOW! Considering eco-awareness, a show presenting outfits made only from recycled and upcycled items was held at Karori Anglican Church. This was themed on the Creation Story in Genesis. Psalm 8 pulled together the foundation of the project along with the Genesis creation story to "teach" GZ what an amazing world we have been given and entrusted with.