Across our communities of hope we draw on Scripture, prayer, music, storytelling and Christian traditions that help us notice:

• the goodness and wonder of creation;

• our place within, rather than above, the wider created world;

• the connections between environmental and social justice;

• the grief and anxiety many people carry about climate and nature;

• and the hope and responsibility involved in following Jesus.

That can look very different in different communities: sensory exploration with young children, prayer and discussion at Pathfinder, silence and attention within the Compline Community, or outdoor worship in the landscape around us.

We can still think carefully about:

• how much equipment we use and transport;

• reducing unnecessary printing;

• choosing reusable rather than disposable resources;

• sharing spaces rather than expecting them to exist only for us;

• walking, cycling and lift-sharing;

• and purchasing responsibly.

A Rocha’s current Eco Church framework specifically recognises churches like ours through a pathway for churches without their own building.

And as we develop plans for the Chapel by the Lake, the environmental impact of the building, landscape, energy use, travel and long-term operation is being considered from the beginning.

[Explore the Chapel by the Lake →]

We want to learn to live with this landscape, rather than seeing nature simply as spare space around the town.

Because we do not currently own land, much of our work happens through partnership. Over the years that has included working with The Pathfinder School and Friends of Pathfinder in its conservation area, taking part in community gardening, litter picking and encouraging people to notice and enjoy the natural world around them.

Our developing lakeside project also gives us the opportunity to think about planting, biodiversity, reflective outdoor spaces and ways in which people and the more-than-human world might flourish together.

Locally, we have worked alongside organisations including Sustainable Northstowe, Northstowe Town Council, The Pathfinder School and Northstowe Youth Hive, and environmental questions arise naturally within our wider community and interfaith relationships. Our history includes litter picks, sustainability events, youth-led choices, local food and practical collaboration across the town.

Globally, we use prayer, learning and campaigning resources which help connect our local choices with the lives of neighbours elsewhere in the world.

We are still learning — including learning to listen carefully to perspectives and Christian traditions shaped by cultures and relationships with land very different from our own.

We have tried to make some of those choices collectively. Becoming a Plastic Free ally encouraged us to look carefully at the single-use plastics involved in our own gatherings. That led to practical changes such as using washable cups and plates wherever possible, choosing plastic-free teabags, and using reusable poster stands and clip frames rather than routinely laminating signs.

Our purchasing choices matter too. Since 2022, the coffee we serve has come from Kickstart Coffee: ethically sourced Ugandan speciality coffee, roasted and packaged in Cambridge, with its profits supporting children’s health and education in Uganda.

We do not expect everybody to make identical choices, nor do we want environmental concern to become a competition in personal virtue.

Instead, we encourage one another to notice what is possible and take the next faithful step.

Sometimes that is very small:

• walking instead of driving;

• using something again rather than replacing it;

• choosing local or ethically sourced food;

• reducing waste;

• thinking about where our money is invested;

• or simply becoming better at noticing and enjoying the natural world around us.

Small choices do not replace the need for wider structural change. But they can help our shared values become habits.