Silver Eco award for Baptist church 

Devonport Community Baptist Church has been awarded a Silver Eco Church award, becoming only the second church in Plymouth and the second Baptist church in the South West of England to achieve this status

The church received the Bronze Award in 2017, after which members made a commitment as a church to get to a Silver level by 2019.

The award recognised the church's efforts to care for God's earth in its worship and teaching, management of buildings and land, community and global engagement, and lifestyle.  

In a press release, the church explained in a little more detail about how it achieved the award.

'We did this through:

• Holding a harvest festival and creation service, which we will continue with annually. 
• We will continue to bring in a focus on God's creation during its services, through preaching, prayer and worship 
• Initiate ideas such as the re use box, including giving away bee friendly seeds 
• At our Saturday arts and crafts we are continuing to create by reusing/upcycling materials, attending the scrap store Union Street and educate about environmental issues 
• We participate with Marlborough Street by Yarn Bombing, litter picking and planting 
• Lots of positive responses in seeking to be responsible stewards of God's creation 
• We regularly use talk about green issues on our weekly e-newsheet.' 

Minister Michael Shaw explained what an impact the eco journey has had on the church. 'We have used it as part of our discipleship,' he said. 'It has brought us together as a church, increased people's involvement, got people interested in the theology and moved them towards God.'

Eco Church is Christian charity A Rocha UK’s award scheme for churches in England and Wales who want to demonstrate that the gospel is good news for God’s earth. For more visit ecochurch.arocha.org.uk