October 2025 Eco Report On 5th September I went to a meeting at Avenue St Andrews Church and was very happy to meet a room full of people all interested in green matters and making their churches more sustainable. We were able to share our experiences and what has worked well for us, and what […]
Faith and Loyalty: Lessons from Football Fans
October 2025 Message from an Elder Dear Friends I know it’s a few weeks ago, but on writing, the last home game I attended at St Mary’s Stadium was Southampton v Portsmouth. A local derby that has a lot of history and was hyped up by the media so much in the week preceding the game, […]
The Growing Plastic Waste Crisis: Key Facts and Figures
September 2025 Eco Report Plastic! One thing we cannot escape is plastic waste. Global plastic waste is expected to reach 1.7 billion metric tonnes (MT’s) by 2060, costing a cumulative $281 trillion by some estimates. Did you know the first commercially produced plastic was called Bakelite, invented by Leo Baekeland in 1907? The plastics industry […]
September Reflections: A Message of Hope and Solidarity
Dear Friends Welcome to September 2025. I was thinking about what September means for some people, mainly students and their parents in respect of the academic year. There will be 4/5 years olds going to primary school for the very first time with anxious parents in tow. Existing pupils will be starting a new year, […]
World Ocean Conference 2025: Key Outcomes and Commitments
July/August 2025 Eco Report World Ocean Conference 2025 Last month, I mentioned a worldwide United Nations conference held in Nice, France, to discuss the state of the worlds oceans and what could be done to save them and the life they support. This was the largest conference of its type, with 175 countries, 64 Heads […]
The Importance of Praying for Climate Change
July/August 2024 Message from an Elder Dear Friends In my set of prayers for May I included the following prayer: for gentle rain; “Dear God, we thank you for the Summer Sun and warm days that we have, that ended a long cold wintry spring, but please could we have some gentle rain? No rain […]
Join Big Green Week 2025: Eco Events Across the UK
June 2025 Eco report Big Green Week – 7th – 15th June 2025 Various events are happening to mark this week; come to an event and join the 1 million people across the UK taking action for nature and climate. – see the poster about Rising Sea Levels at Avenue St Andrews on 10th June […]
Reflections on June: Holidays, Pentecost, and Community
June 2025 Message from an Elder Dear Friends, Well. what do I write about as we come into the month of June? People are going on holidays, students are finishing exams and beginning to go home for their breaks from university and college. Others are finishing school for the long school holidays, while others are […]
Insect Decline: A Growing Concern for Biodiversity
May 2025 Eco report As you kindly voted me in as Church Eco friend at our recent AGM, I’m now going to get involved in this role, starting with items for Outlook. Taking inspiration from the hymn “All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small”, […]
Keeping the Spirit of Easter Alive Year-Round
May 2025 Message from an Elder Dear Friends Our Church is so fortunate to have had some wonderful services during Holy Week. We are thankful to Dave, Jill, Ian and all those who have helped make our services for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday so meaningful and inspiring. I find the joyousness of […]