A NEW bilingual booklet has launched to coincide with Climate Sunday.

The Diocese of St Asaph published Caring for Each Other; Caring for God’s Creation to tie in with the national event on Sunday 6.

The booklet, which promotes changes to the way parishioners live, work, shop and worship, will help churches contribute to a fairer and more sustainable world.

It will also celebrate the good work already underway.

Caring for Each Other; Caring for God’s Creation is a collaboration between the diocese’s churches inspector, Michael Plane and engagement officer, Sarah Wheat.

“The booklet poses simple questions to help congregations improve the eco-credentials not only of their building and land but also their own lifestyles," Mr Plane said.

"We know our choices can make a real difference in the world and it is important that churches have those conversations and make informed decisions.

“But this isn’t just for churches, it’s for all of us.

"As a diocese we’ll be looking at how we can embed environmental awareness into every policy. This could include things like buying Fairtrade tea and coffee, changing to a renewable energy supply and banning unnecessary travel.”

The booklet kick starts a year focusing on creating eco-churches and achieving recognition of this with an official designation from Christian charity Arocha UK.

It will run alongside Climate Sunday, a year-long campaign ahead of the COP26 climate meeting in 2021.

Ms Wheat said: “We know that many people in our churches are already passionate about these issues and want to see a fairer and more sustainable world. Having experienced weeks of lockdown, with limited opportunities to travel and a focus on shopping locally, we hope some of the benefits people saw during this time will continue as life resumes alongside Coronavirus.

"This guide is designed to encourage those conversations in communities and enable all of us to make wise decisions.”

Caring for Each Other; Caring for God’s Creation is available to download at www.dioceseofstasaph.org.uk/faith-in-action/eco-church

A limited number of bilingual hard copies are available from the Diocesan Office in St Asaph.