Dear Friends.......

At the time of writing this piece for the March edition of The Record, the calendar has only just turned over to February.   What a mixture of weather we are having - pouring with rain one minute and then a

beautiful rainbow appears – although we should be thankful that we are much better off than a lot of places in the UK and elsewhere in the world.

It’s really hard, sometimes, trying to think of Spring and Summer with the nicer weather and it’s certainly hard to imagine those longer days,

and, yes, even sitting out in the garden.  And then you notice the snowdrops and crocuses and in some places the daffodils beginning to poke their noses through the cold earth.  And then I saw a beautiful rainbow and that reminded me of how thankful we should be for the

amazing world God created.

Wherever we are, and whatever the weather, we should always be thanking God for our world, the world He created and of which He made us stewards.  Sadly, we don’t all appreciate that gift and the role He has given us.  You don’t have to walk or drive very far to see the rubbish lying alongside the roads and the fly-tipping in the hedgerows.

But it’s not just about rubbish being left by the side of the road, it’s also about making the world more eco-friendly and Reigate Park, along with many other churches and synods, have signed up for the A Rocha Eco Awards.   We have gained our Bronze and Silver awards and are now working towards our Gold.   (Talk to Tina Papworth if you are interested in helping.)  Southern Synod, of which we are a part, is now the sixth synod across the URC to reach Bronze status and Thames North have recently become the seventh.

Some of the steps Southern Synod took to gain the Bronze award are:

1.     Putting the synod’s financial investments with Epworth (a not-for-profit organisation that focuses on investing for both people and planet).

2.     Updated the manse policy that puts the goal of energy performance certificates at C or better for all manses.  Of course, lots of local churches like Reigate Park have carried out their own pieces of work to gain their Bronze, Silver and some Gold awards.

So next time you are out and about or even just looking out of your window, take a moment not simply to look at the world around you but to thank God for His Creation and also remember to care for it as God wants us to do.

Rev. Susan Knight

Taken from the March Edition of The Record