Scientists are clear about the impact our western lifestyles are having on the environment and climate change. At St Martin’s we are responding by thinking more deeply about our environmental footprint and our role as stewards of God’s beautiful world.

We are taking steps to become an Eco Church. Eco Church is an initiative by A Rocha (more details below) and is an award scheme for churches in England and Wales who want to demonstrate that the gospel is good news for God’s earth.  The scheme challenges us to make change in five areas:

• The efficiency of our buildings – How do we heat them? Are they properly insulated?
• The use we make of our graveyard to encourage wildlife
• Our teaching and preaching so that we can become better informed about environmental issues
• Our engagement with others in our community to share with and learn from others
• Our personal carbon footprint – What changes can we make to the way we live?

St Martin has achieved the Bronze level.  We’d love you to join us as we journey towards Silver.

At the Eco Fair in September 2021 we held an Eco Fair at church, with Sustainable Epsom and Ewell. Part of the church’s offering was inviting people who came to the fair to put a stitch or two into an embroidered patch, based on a painting by Chris Hyde, to go on the ‘Coat of Hopes’ which made it’s way to COP26 in Glasgow in November. The patch made it and was briefly visible in the Channel 4 evening news on 1^st November!  Our hopes, fears, prayers and love made it to Glasgow as a witness, in this piece of wool and cotton.