Commitment to the Environment
Actively seeking to be good stewards of God’s creation through prayer, action and advocacy
Being good stewards of God’s creation is something we strive for at Holy Trinity Geneva.
As a chaplaincy, we are aiming to become an Eco Church, an award scheme run by A Rocha UK for churches who want to demonstrate that “the gospel is good news for God’s earth”.
HTC has recently achieved an Eco Church award at the Bronze level with plans to reach the Silver and Gold level.
A Rocha provides online resources and a survey to help churches integrate environmental stewardship into various aspects of their ministry, including Worship and Teaching, Building Management, Land, Community and Global Engagement, and Lifestyle.
As part of the Eco Church Award program our church works to make protection of the environment a regular part of our Church life through worship, bible studies and community outreach. One of the aims is to look at our shopping habits both for church events and at home.
Church Garden
Thanks to the generous efforts of a member of our congregation we are currently transforming our small plot of land into a vibrant garden providing much needed greenery and a habitat for birds and insects. Even in the midst of the city we can find beauty in God's creation.
Caring for Creation
Caring for Creation does not stop with prayer! We need to act.
Actions on an individual or organisational level can influence our climate both here in Geneva and throughout the world.
How do you choose which product to buy from the range available? Do you knowingly select products made by companies that pay very low wages, take actions which negatively effect the climate or have unfair trading terms? No, probably not. So, we all need to look at our shopping habits both for refreshments for church and for home.
Together, as a congregation, we can and should look to buy locally grown, Fairtrade, or animal welfare friendly products wherever possible. Ideally a combination of all of these if we can. You might also want to consider organic products.
Does changing to Fairtrade coffee for refreshments after services make a difference? In Switzerland we consume around 9 million kgs. of coffee per year, that’s roughly 1,100 cups per person per year. Imagine all that coffee being consumed being Fairtrade, surely that would be good for both coffee farmers and the environment?