Selsdon Baptist Church

A church at  the heart of the community

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Selsdon Baptist Church is a Registered Charity No. 1126971          Copyright Selsdon Baptist Church 2009 - 2012

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The Green Page

Selsdon Baptist Church believes that the Earth has been entrusted to mankind by God, and that it is our Christian responsibility to steward it well.

A small group of interested people spearhead the green actions the church undertakes. In  2010 the church was awarded the Ecocongregation (http://ew.ecocongregation.org/) Award. This is an independently-assessed award and is designed to affirm good practice in environmental stewardship and help churches witness to the importance of caring for God's creation.

Green activities at SBC include:

• Recycling - various containers have been provided for recycling around the church, including paper, cans, etc. Our thanks go to those who empty them and take the waste to recycling.  
• Teaching - in 2008 there was a teaching series about Christianity and the Environment, with sermons and homegroup study material.  
• Witness - the group feels that concern for the environment is an area where we can be very 'relevant' to the community around us.

The following activities have helped the church to engage with our neighbours:-

• Clean up days - as part of the love Croydon celebrations the Addington Road congregation picked up litter in the roads around the church (see pictures below), whilst the Greenvale congregation have done the same for the last two years.
• 'Inconvenient Truth' - a public showing of this award winning movie was held at the church, and attracted many friends and neighbours of members of the congregation.
• Articles - the group aims to provide an article for each issue of the church magazine, with informative material of an environmental nature.
• Tree planting - when children are dedicated in the church, as well as buying a gift of a book, the church now also pays the Woodland Trust to plant a tree. This has proved a very popular gesture with parents.  
• Walk to church days - both in 2007 & 2008 a day was organised when the congregation was encouraged to walk (or cycle, share lifts) to church.

The Green group also counts Fair Trade amongst its areas of concern, and the church is now a Fair Trade church. Where possible fair trade products are used, and Fair Trade fortnight is promoted in a variety of ways each year. We are indebted to organisations such as A Rocha and Christian Ecology Link for the resources and guidance they provide. We have also recently forged links with groups in other churches who have similar groups

If you have any suggestions for future green activities,

just let us know.

Fairtrade Church

Environmental Prayer Walk

Useful Green Links

• A Rocha: http://www.arocha.org/gb-en/index.html A Rocha is a Christian environmental and conservation charity
• A Rocha Living Lightly: http://arochalivinglightly.org.uk/
• Christian Ecology Link: http://www.christian-ecology.org.uk/index.htm considering ecology and the environment
• Croydon Council: http://www.croydon.gov.uk/environment/rrandw/ information on where to recycle your waste locally
• Earth Day: http://www.earthday.org/
• European Commission> Environment: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/index_en.htm
• The Fairtrade foundation: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/
• Friends of the Earth: http://www.foe.co.uk/
• Freecycle: www.freecycle.org
• Future Forests: http://www.futureforests.co.uk/ includes a CO2 calculator
• Global Footprints: http://globalfootprints.org/ the website of HEC Global Learning Centre
• Junkk: http://www.junkk.com/index.asp?parent_id=554&slevel=0z544 Reuse ideas
• Make It and Mend It - because life’s too good to throw away: http://www.makeitandmendit.com/
• Morsbags: http://www.morsbags.com/ Make your own bags for life
• People and Planet: http://peopleandplanet.org/ UK Students campaigning on
  world poverty, human rights and the environment
• Recycle Now: http://www.recyclenow.com/
• Reuze: http://www.reuze.co.uk how, what and where to recycle in the UK
• Shrinking the Footprint: http://www.shrinkingthefootprint.org/ The Church of England’s national environment campaign
• The Man in Seat Sixty-One: http://www.seat61.com/ how to travel overland comfortably & affordably where you might think that air is the only option
• UK energy saving: http://www.uk-energy-saving.com/ advice, tips  and product suggestions
• United Nations Environment Programme: http://unep.org/
• Waste Watch: http://www.wastewatch.org.uk/Homepage
• We Are What We Do: http://www.wearewhatwedo.org/ Ideas for small things anyone can do to make a positive change
• Women’s Environmental Network: http://www.wen.org.uk/

Shopping

• Ethical Superstore: http://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/
• Ethiscore: http://www.ethiscore.org/reports.aspx?free=true find out how environmentally friendly various products and companies are
• The Green Stationery Company: http://www.greenstat.co.uk/storefront/home
• Natural Collection: http://www.naturalcollection.com/
• Tearcraft: http://www.createdgifts.org/tearcraft/public/home.jsf?contentPage=0&con tentTab=0
• Traidcraft: http://www.traidcraftshop.co.uk/?gclid=CKum_YSq_aECFcOX2AoddkuvEQ

Book recycling

• Book crossing: http://www.bookcrossing.com/
• Book Hopper: http://www.bookhopper.com/
• Green Metropolis: http://www.greenmetropolis.com/
• Read it swap it: http://www.readitswapit.co.uk/TheLibrary.aspx

Energy

• BritishEco: http://www.britisheco.com/home.aspx Renewable energy solutions
• Energy Saving Trust: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/
• Green electricity suppliers: http://greenelectricity.org/

For Children (shared with us by Mrs McVey's class, USA)

• AFRICAN AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALIST ASSOCIATION - endangered animals  
• Pennsylvania Environment Protection Department - Just for Kids
• The Water Page
• Pacific Lutheran University - Great Ways to Go Green