The Diocesan office received the Silver Eco Award, after completing an Eco church survey as many churches and the Cathedral in the diocese have done. The award for the Diocesan office, along with those given to parish churches and the Cathedral will enable the Hereford Diocese to apply for the Eco Diocese award, recognising its commitment to caring for creation.
The Eco Diocese award is an A Rocha initiative to encourage diocesan-level engagement with Eco Church and is aimed at promoting local church participation in the scheme. It also requires each diocese taking part to have achieved a number of targets before the award can be given.
The Hereford Diocese Mission Enabler & Environment Advisor, Steve Hollinghurst said "This award is for the diocesan office which In Hereford are part of the Bishop’s Palace, so unlike most churches, there are certain things we do not control, but it’s good to have the efforts we have made to care for creation recognised by this Silver Eco Church award."
As part of the criteria required to reach the Eco Diocese award needs to have a written environmental policy, have gained the appropriate levels of local church registrations and awards for Eco Church, and achieved the relevant award for the diocesan offices.
Steve adds:
“This has been something a number of diocesan staff have been working together on and I have had the privilege of pulling that together and finalising the application since coming into post in May as Mission Enabler Environment. The real significance of this however, is that it is the last piece we need to gain our Eco Diocese award, which we have been working towards since 2019 and which we can now apply for and hopefully receive soon."
If your church would like to register for an Eco Church Award you can find more information about how to do it on the A Rocha website.