Barbara Echlin has been part of the Green Christian leadership team since 1995. She spoke about her role; "I am currently Vice Chair but I’m one of those strange people who enjoy organizing things so I oversee the internal administration. Green Christian members come from all backgrounds and traditions. Inspired by our faith, we do what we can to care for Creation through prayer, living simply, public witness, campaigning and mutual encouragement. We are volunteer-led and have over 1000 members."
Barbara will be joining us for the workshop on March 1st. We asked her what you will be able to learn and how it will help you achieve your Carbon Net Zero aims:
"During the workshop, I’ll be explaining and teasing out how the Green Christian LOAF campaign is based on four principles to guide us when sourcing our food. LOAF stands for food that is Locally produced, Organically grown, Animal friendly or Fairly traded. If we want to live on a sustainable planet – we just need to “Use our LOAF!” For any unfamiliar with the meaning of “LOAF” it means you use your head – your common sense. It can also be fun using simple ingredients such as free-range eggs, fair-trade sugar and fruit from our gardens to produce an impressive pavlova.
It is important to think about food for many reasons – basic human survival for one! Then there is the effect agriculture has on biodiversity – for good or ill. Food sustainability is also vital for Carbon Net Zero aims because of its impact on climate breakdown. Today, 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food systems - 30% directly from livestock and fisheries. Emissions from food alone would currently take us far beyond the goal of less than 1.5C of warming - unless we start to radically reduce food emissions alongside energy emissions.
Bread is full of symbolic meaning for Christians. In the gospels, Jesus described Himself as “the bread of life”. When we prepare the bread and wine at communion we say “We break this bread to share in the body of Christ. Although we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.”
Green Christian’s website has extensive resources based on our LOAF principles which can help you put the ideas into practice in your church. These range from services of worship in different styles, leaflets and posters. A “Food Matters” page gives starting points for the many fascinating and vitally important issues around how we source our food.
Fairtrade and Loaf Principles - A Net Zero Carbon Workshop
March 1st 6:15 pm to 7:15 m (Online)
One way to really make an impact in your church is to follow the LOAF principles. LOAF stands for Locally produced, Organically grown, Animal-friendly and Fairly traded and gives a framework for good ethical decisions.
Book here