Becoming an Eco-Congregation

Menstrie Parish Church of Scotland

Menstrie Parish Church of Scotland registered with eco-congregation Scotland in 2006 and completed an audit to identify where we were. Since then many improvements have been made to the church buildings, including the manse with special thought taken to make them as energy efficient as possible.
In August 2009 a small group was set up in order to carry this forward.

Eco-congregation group members:- John Gourley, Jim Marshall and Sandra Small

Early efforts concentrated on promoting Fair Trade Goods, looking at fuel efficiency and Celebrating
Creation both in worship and work with the Children’s Clubs. An application was prepared and
submitted in February 2010. An assessment visit was carried out on 17th March and we were told
then and there that we had been successful. We are the first church in Clackmannanshire
to be awarded Eco-Congregation status.
A special service was held on Sunday 30th May when we were officially presented with our plaque.

Part of the thinking behind this scheme is to take the message home into our everyday
lives and indeed to spread the idea of caring for God’s Creation.
If we can build on this we may be able to apply for the second award
when the time comes.