Caring for creation

St Edmundsbury Cathedral and the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich actively champion environmental stewardship through creation care initiatives, community pledges, and commemorative services.

Eco Church Awards

The Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich recently marked the start of Creationtide and the tenth anniversary of A Rocha's Eco Church Awards with a special service at St Edmundsbury Cathedral on Saturday 5th September, and a small group from St Mary’s Woodbridge attended the celebratory service.

Our Organist, Dr Sarah Dodds, was one of those who attended, and she writes:

We heard stories from other churches in the diocese about what they are doing for caring for creation, using the structure of the Eco-Church awards.  It was inspiring: the Anglican Church is serious in its commitment to responding to climate change.  Viewed through the lens of the Christian faith, climate change affects the poorest the most, and set alongside our responsibility to care for God’s creation, we cannot be deaf to our call. 

I was struck by how the churches’ stories were characterised by people working together – having fun - faithfully taking small steps in their local environments.  The sermon was on the parable of the sower: we were challenged to consider what we can do to prepare the ground on which the seed falls and understand our work for climate justice as part of the Church’s mission. 

St Mary’s has a bronze Eco-Church award, so now we need to look towards gaining silver.  The point of this is not virtue signalling, but to give a structure for looking rigorously and comprehensively at the impact of the way we live individually and as a church.  After the extreme heat of summer 2026, perhaps you are feeling more ready than ever to open a window onto resurrection living in the cause of caring for creation. 

Creationtide

is an annual period in the Christian church calendar, running from 1st September to 4th October, and serves as a time for congregations to give thanks for the natural world, and renew their commitment to environmental care and climate justice.

At St Mary's, Woodbridge we will be celebrating Harvest on Sunday 20th September, with our first "all-age" family friendly Eucharist at 10am, where we ask for donations that will be passed on to the Salvation Army Foodbank. Everyone is welcome to join us. The service will be followed by a 'bring and share' lunch in St Mary's House, from 12.15pm.