Hope Heroes: Kalamunda Uniting Church wins environmental awards
This story comes to us from the Five Leaf Eco-Awards, where Kalamunda Uniting Church have been a recent recipient of three environmental awards for their efforts in sustainability, environmental themed worship and climate activism. Congratulations to the Kalamunda Uniting Church congregation!
Kalamunda Uniting Church’s efforts to hope and act with creation and show that we can all help our environment were celebrated recently with the presentation of three prestigious environmental awards to the congregation – the Five Leaf Eco-Awards Basic Certificate, Eco Worship and Climate Activism Awards.
The Basic Certificate recognises the church’s dedication to sustainability for over two decades, and the practical actions they have taken, including installing solar panels and energy efficient lighting and heating, using lap rugs in church and conducting an energy audit, driven by their Green Church Group.
The Eco Worship Award recognises the church for their environment themed worship services including their Season of Creation Celebrations, Hope Heroes photo exhibition – documenting the environmental actions of members of the congregation – and Messy Church services that included establishing a church community herb garden and holding an Op Shop Festival.
In these services, deep and visible cultural change has been happening. The desire to care for the world, God’s precious creation, has been specifically linked to sustainable environmental practice. To combat the very real sense of helplessness that individual action is not worthwhile, and the subsequent climate change despair, the focus has been on hope – both at a local level (e.g. planting sustainably with water-wise gardens) and offering opportunities to participate in nation-wide initiatives such as those promoted by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC).
Thus, the church was also awarded the Climate Activism Award, noting their participation in multiple ARRCC actions and events, and in multi-faith vigils and events protesting fossil fuels. They have also written to their local political candidates asking about their environmental policies and proudly display their climate action banners.
On hearing the church would receive the awards, Minister Rev Sophia Lizares said, “We are so thrilled that Kalamunda UC will be recognised for all the good work done here as part of Green Church. I’ve appreciated the idea of the Five Leaf Eco-Awards and am excited to finally be part of it.”
The Green Church Group extended their thanks to Rev Lizares for her leadership and support in the work they have done to earn these awards. The congregation was keen to celebrate the achievement with Rev Lizares as part of her official Closure of Placement service with Kalamunda and St. Martin’s Foothills Uniting Churches. The church community came together to celebrate her service with them.
Founder of the awards, Jessica Morthorpe, says she is looking forward to seeing Kalamunda Uniting Church earn more awards in the future, and encourages other churches interested in earning awards to apply,
“Many churches have already done enough to earn Five Leaf Eco-Awards, they just don’t realize it,” she says, “If your community is doing something to be proud of, even if you think you have only done a little, please let us know. We can’t give you an award if we don’t know what you’ve done!”
Churches can enter the awards by filling out the survey here – https://fiveleafecoawards.org/
The Five Leaf Eco-Awards are an ecumenical environmental change initiative for Australian churches and religious organisations founded in 2008 to assist, inspire and reward churches for environmental action. The Five Leaf Eco-Awards are non-competitive, with churches completing tasks from a list of flexible criteria to earn each certificate. There are currently seven awards of varying difficulty available. The Five Leaf Eco-Awards operate nationally and across denominations. Find out more or apply for an award on behalf of your church here: www.fiveleafecoawards.org
