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The Five Marks of Mission
The five marks of mission were developed by the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) and have been widely adopted as an understanding of what contemporary mission is about. The marks were adopted by the General Synod of the Church of England in 1996 and many dioceses and other denominations use them as the basis of action plans and creative mission ideas. In 2012, the ACC added wording to the fourth mark, to include the need for Christians to challenge violence and work for peace. The five marks are: To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom To teach, baptise and nurture new believers To respond to human need by loving service To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth. It is with the fifth mark of mission that Eco Church is engaged:
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth. We believe that as a church community it is essential that we play a full and clear part in this and in countering climate change.
Eco Church
Eco Church is a project of A Rocha UK - a charity committed to mobilising Christians to care for nature. The Church of England fully subscribes to the project and our Diocese of Bristol is a registered Eco Diocese. The Diocese is committed to addressing the environmental challenges that our community faces and in November 2019 declared a climate emergency. As part of this, it working towards achieving a net zero carbon position by 2030. The Parish of Colerne has committed to the Eco Church project and seeks to express our care for God’s world:
How can we do more in our personal lifestyles? Changing our personal lifestyles is essential if we’re to worship God with heart, soul, mind and strength – and love our neighbours as ourselves. ‘We all need to make a complete, radical and honest audit of our lifestyles, their impact on the poor and on the planet,’ said A Rocha UK co-founder Dave Bookless, ‘and to ask God to pinpoint where we should start making changes.’ Where do we start? It’s not always easy to know where to start, or how to get buy-in from other members of the family! A personal lifestyle audit helps you identify where you are doing well and where you could improve. There are many available measuring slightly different things. Focus on your personal decisions at home rather than corporate decisions of the church body, by using the Creation Care website. The seven categories of questions are in the same areas as the Eco Church survey so the resources we have provided will help you at home as well as at church:
St John the Baptist is registered with Creation Care. Households may take the survey alone or they may link their results to our church, so that we may see the collective impact of individual choices. Please do participate at: https://creationcare.org. uk/ |
Useful Environmental and Eco Church Links
Church of England Eco Church web page Diocese of Bristol Environment, Climate Justice and Reaching Net Zero Diocese of Bristol Eco Diocese web page Diocese of Bristol Eco Church web page A Rocha Website Eco Church Resources Wild Colerne The children from SHINE have made their very own
bug hotel in the churchyard! 
Fairtrade Place of Worship
In addition to being registered with A Rocha for Eco Church, we are now a Fairtrade Place of Worship. For more information, please follow the link here Eco Church Activities
God's Acre - Count on Nature - Saturday, 7th June On Saturday, 7th June, from 2 to 4pm in the churchyard there will be 'God’s Acre - COUNT ON NATURE' to which everyone is invited to identify as many species as they can find. Possible moth hunt led by Chris Woods. Nature Day on Sunday, 8th June On Sunday 8th June from midday to 3,30pm there will be a NATURE DAY organised by Wild Colerne. There will be multiple stalls in the Market Place and churchyard, with all supporting NATURE: Eco church will be there with seed bomb making or wild flower seed sewing in a pot, all our usual educational and awareness raising material from ARocha, God’s Acre etc, photographic display with audio support in the church building. An update on the swift hotel project. Altar cloth Sewing Project in Lady Chapel (TBC). Film: Rave on for the Avon on Friday, 13th June The film follows the highs and lows of the Conham Bathers, Bristol’s clean water campaigners as they fight for the safety of wild swimming on their beloved Avon River. The Guardian gave this 2023 film four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ saying: ‘Campaigning never looked so fun and friendly as it does in this joyous documentary' The film will be shown in the church on Friday, 13th June from 7.30 to 9pm, with doors opening at 7pm. Tickets are free but please secure your place by booking, as only 80 seats are available. Tickets may be obtained from Eventbrite at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rave-on-for-the-avon-a-free-film-to-inspire-tickets-1312758127899?aff=oddtdtcreator The event is organised by Wild Colerne in collaboration with St John the Baptist Eco Church, and supported by Colerne Parish Council. Donations to the work of Bristol and Avon Riverside Trust welcome. |
