Church of Scotland: let there be green light

Published on Saturday 22 March 2008 18:46

AND behold, there were environmentally friendly lightbulbs. The Kirk has appointed its first ever environmental chief in an effort to make its churches and parishioners greener.

New church buildings will have energy-saving features and congregations will be encouraged to ditch their cars when travelling to services.

Adrian Shaw, a church-goer who previously worked with a series of environmental organisations, has been appointed to advise Kirk committees and congregations on how to respond to climate change through the Eco-Congregation programme.

The Kirk has decided to step up its environmental role after sister churches in the developing world – many established through the help of Scottish missionaries in the 19th century – urged fellow believers in the west to act to avoid environmental catastrophe.

These included churches in the Pacific islands, threatened by rising sea levels, and in eastern Africa, where drought and extreme weather are growing problems.

Shaw said: "I'm here to help make congregations aware of good practice and help them get information they need by pointing them in the right direction.

"There are some churches which are already leading the way by installing systems which extract heat from the ground to warm up buildings.

"There are challenges too, such as the transport needed to get to church committee meetings. We can look at greater use of video-conferencing, for example."

Advice for parishioners includes using low-energy light bulbs and encouraging car sharing for journeys to church.

At last year's Church of Scotland General Assembly, the Kirk declared: "The Church of Scotland is concerned that climate change represents a failure in our stewardship of God's creation.

"We accept the need to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases urgently to avoid dangerous and irreversible climate change; and to promote a more equitable and sustainable use of energy."

However, the newly green Kirk will frown on preachers recycling sermons and anecdotes which churchgoers have heard before.