CHURCHES are generally desirous to take steps to cut back their impact on the environment, but the prices in straitened times are holding them back, a survey from Ecclesiastical Insurance and the Bible Society has found.
Four in five believed that it was their duty to guard the planet: a conviction that translated into 73 per cent believing that it was a part of the mission of the Church, and 63 per cent (almost two-thirds) suggesting that it was the proper thing to do for the environment.
Practical steps that churches are taking include switching to LED lighting (53 per cent of the 551 churches surveyed); reducing paper usage (49 per cent); training volunteers to cut back their carbon footprint (33 per cent), and switching to a renewable energy supplier (30 per cent).
One third of the churches, nevertheless, say that they should not have the funds to make changes. Almost half (49 per cent) of those that had taken steps to cut back their climate impact had drawn money from reserves to achieve this; about one quarter (22 per cent) had used donations; and roughly one in five (19 per cent) had applied for grants.
Churches also referred to the planning laws around listed buildings as holding them back.
In its bid to attain net zero carbon emissions by 2030, the C of E has allocated £190 million over the following nine years to fund grants and projects to assist churches, schools, cathedrals, clergy houses, and other buildings to cut back emissions.
Part of the programme has been the £5.2-million demonstrator churches scheme, which seeks to assist 114 churches, this 12 months and next, to pay for items similar to solar panels, heat pumps, insulation, secondary glazing, LED lighting, and infrared heating systems.
One of the churches benefiting is the medieval parish church of St Peter Mancroft, in Norwich city centre, which received a £50,000 grant, co-funded with £36,000 by the Benefact Trust, which owns Ecclesiastical and which pledged £1.5 million towards the demonstrator churches scheme. It was the Trust’s first strategic climate grant.
The church is expecting an 84-per-cent reduction in emissions by replacing its entire interior lighting system and installing heat pumps, batteries, and 48 solar panels. The installation work is being filmed to be used as a resource by other parishes contemplating similar work.
The Rector of St Peter’s, Canon Edward Carter, described the work as “a comprehensive project to a Grade I listed church. It’s so satisfying to see this project finally come to fruition,” he said.
In the wake of the survey, which was carried out in July, Ecclesiastical has launched a guide, Climate Change and Your Church, intended to assist churches to administer their risks as they work towards becoming more climate resilient. “We need to support them to navigate the risks and challenges they might face in adapting their buildings for a lower carbon future,” Helen Richards, church operations director, said.
“We know that budgets are limited, and it might be daunting knowing where to begin on the fund-raising journey to lift vital funds for these projects. Our church fund-raising hub has the tools, suggestions, and concepts to assist churches to thrive and help preserve their amazing buildings from climate change for generations to come back.”
Other recent research commissioned by Ecclesiastical pertains to how churches viewed keeping their buildings open outside of service times, as a part of their mission and ministry to the the community.
The survey, carried out by Christian Research, found that 82 per cent of the churches polled supported the principle of providing a spot for quiet contemplation and prayer, and to welcome visitors — a figure that rose to 90 per cent for rural churches.
In practice, rural churches usually tend to be open within the day, unstaffed, and locked at night; while urban areas were more prone to have them open and staffed within the day and locked at night. Those with concerns referred to break, theft, and safety considerations, and greater than half relied on volunteers to lock and unlock the constructing — identified as a significant barrier to wider opening.
