Care FOR Creation

- the Fifth Mark of the Anglican Mission
St Paul’s is passionate about our beautiful whenua, and we are on a journey as a church family to make changes to how we do things, to better look after our planet. 

We’d love for you to join us.

We are an eco church.

We are an Eco Church, with A Rocha Aotearoa NZ. We are continuing to actively engage with our beautiful whenua and taking steps to ensure that, as a church, we are doing what we can to look after it.
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Current initiatives

Here are some of the things we're getting up to at St Paul's, both in a practical way and in a creative way.

Coffee Cups

We've moved from single-use coffee cups to ceramic mugs that we can put through a dishwasher installed in our kitchenette upstairs. While we're still using single-use cups with lids for the kids, this is a great move in the right direction. Thank you to everyone who donated a mug for this change!

You're still encouraged to bring your own keep cup, just know we do have ceramic mugs available if you forget. 

CREATION

As part of Creationtide (September each year), we launched a year-long event called CREATION which began in September 2023. The aim was to celebrate creation in Aotearoa New Zealand, through artist’s work in painting, photography, pottery, song, and more. This culminated in an exhibition in 2024. As we move ahead, we're looking at a design for some new stained glass windows based on creation motifs. You can learn more here in this SPAM brief.

The St Paul's Gardens

St Paul’s is responsible for the gardens around our church. As well as looking after what is already there, we have planted pinātoro, pōhutukawa and rengarenga in our top gardens.

We continue to think about our spaces, both the buildings and also the gardens. Each year we have working bees, so we can continue to care for our patch on Symonds Street.

On-Going Conversations

There are a few conversations happening at the moment that are helping us figure out what being a sustainable church looks like. 

Here are a few initiatives we are looking into: 

Recycling 

We have recycling bins around the church, and we thank you for separating out your recycling from your rubbish.

In order for us to get better at this, we are looking into ways to make more these bins more accessible and to guide you on what can and can’t be put in each bin.

Zero Waste Programme for Churches

In partnership with Para Kore, A Rocha offers a Zero Waste programme that supports Eco Churches to develop waste minimisation strategies that are appropriate for each church’s specific context.

They also offer a Self-Assessment that a church can do to evaluate what they’re doing and what could be improved. We’re looking into doing that for St Paul’s. 

Bike Racks

We're also looking into getting bike racks installed in our grounds, to provide easy places for congregants and visitors to secure their bikes, should they choose to cycle to services and events.

Future thinking

Care of Creation is not a one-time endeavour. As we kōrero about some of the issues we see around us, we are thinking about what the future of St Paul’s might look like.

Drawing on EcoChurch Aotearoa's Mission, St Paul's is engaging with creation care because ... 

We are called to live a faithful life, following Jesus

Caring for God’s earth is an integral aspect of Christian discipleship. It is first and foremost a response of faithfulness and gratitude to God who created the earth in love and entrusted us to care for it. 

We are called to love our neighbours in a resource-limited world

In recent decades, the way we use the earth’s resources has changed significantly. Creation is under strain, with biodiversity declining, climate impacts becoming more visible, and ecosystems finding it harder to recover. Following the example of Jesus, we seek to live differently, caring for creation and nurturing a world where both people and nature can flourish together. 

We are called to reflect and protect the glory of God

The Church's essential mission includes caring for God’s creation. The Fifth Mark of Mission in the Anglican Church calls us to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth. As a home of restoration and healing for our local community, Christians model ways of living sustainably that give hope. 

We are living with Jesus, for Jesus

Our mission at St Paul's is to live With Jesus, For Jesus. We long to see lives and communities transformed for Jesus, and one way we can do that is by looking after the communities and the creation around us. 
Because of this, we think our church life should include:

• Honouring the inherent dignity and sacredness of all creation.
• Offering a message of hope that embraces all of creation.
• Prayerfully seeking wholeness, for hearts, bodies, families, communities, and the natural world.
• Paying attention to the ways harm and injustice take root, and choosing a different way.
• Living out glimpses of the Kingdom of Heaven here and now, through a way of life marked by care, simplicity, and grace.
• Joining with the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work of healing and restoration in the world around us.

Resources

If you or your church are looking for some sustainability resources, here are some we recommend checking out. 
A Rocha
A Rocha is a global network of Christian environmental organisations. Their focus is on environmental science and research, practical nature conservation, environmental education, creation care, and advocacy. A Rocha New Zealand are involved in a number of community conservation initiatives which you can check out here. They also have a long list of resources as part of their global organisation, which you can see here.
Eco Church New Zealand
Eco Church New Zealand has the goal of seeing church communities across Aotearoa take an active role in caring for God’s creation. They support church communities by inspiring collective action to reduce our environmental impact. You can read more about Eco Church here. 
Carbon Calculator
A Rocha and Climate Stewards have partnered up and created a Carbon Calculator. The calculators were developed specifically for the New Zealand context. Check out the Calculators here. 
Anglican Diocese of Auckland
The Anglican Diocese of Auckland has a page on their website on social and climate justice. The focus is on “living beyond ourselves through social justice”. A part of this is our response to the climate crisis. There is more resources and information on this here. 

It takes everyone to make a change

In order for us to continue striving to live out the fifth mark of mission and the calling God has placed on us to look after the land He created, we all need to play a part.

Here are a few practical things you can do at St Paul’s that will make a difference: 
  • Bring a keep cup to church for your drinks and for your kids
  • Put your recycling in the marked recycling bins - if you’re not sure, please ask
  • Get involved in our Working Bees
  • Give financially to help us implement some of the changes

Be part of the conversation

If you have a passion for sustainability and care of creation and would like to be part of the bigger conversation, please get in touch. 
Get in Touch