Parishioners at St Peter and St. Paul’s Church, Aylesford are pledging to use less plastic this Creationtide.
Creationtide is a time in the church calendar, from 1st September to 4th October, dedicated to God as Creator and Sustainer of all life.
"For many of us it was David Attenborough’s Blue Planet 2 in 2017 that was a game changer," say Rev Ruth Peet, vicar of St Pete and St Paul's, "and while there has been a huge and inspiring response, there is still 8 million tonnes of plastic waste dumped in the sea every year."
They were also inspired by Scripture continued Ruth:
"In Genesis we read: 'Then God said, “And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small.' This is not power to go to our heads, but an honour and a privilege; authority to be exercised in all humility."
Recognising this, the congregation launched their Harvest project - ‘Pledge to Use Less Plastic’.
It began by everyone being invited to bring their plastic waste to church to give everyone a sense of the scale of the problem.
Recycling continues to be collected and will be recycled responsibly after Harvest.
Other ideas include:
- a supermarket challenge to see whether people can purchase goods not wrapped in plastic,
- a sewing group making cloth shopping bags, and
- selling beeswax food wraps for charity.
Ruth says they're also encouraging eachother to learn more about recycling and sustainability by looking at online videos and reading articles.
Their 8am and 10am Sunday services will consider:
- 1 Sept: Hope - What’s being done about the problem
- 22 Sept: Stewardship - More on our responsibility
- 29 Sept: Harvest Festival - Marking and celebrating our change in understanding and making our pledges
- 17 Nov: Celebration - of our successes, however small.
Look out for Creationtide posts througout the season on the Diocesan social media channels. For resources visit: www.churchofengland.org/more/policy-and-thinking/our-views/environment-and-climate-change/creationtide/creationtide