JourneyOnline
ON WORLD Environment Day (5 June) Caloundra Uniting Church was announced a joint winner of The Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) Climate Change Award for communities.
ARRCC is a multi-faith network committed to taking action on this most pressing issue of our time.
Caloundra Uniting Church shares the award with the Anglican Church Diocese, Canberra/Goulburn.
The ARRCC award is the culmination of the congregation’s commitment to a “green future”.
The judges acknowledged Caloundra Uniting Church’s excellence as a community in taking action and encouraging others.
“This commitment was expressed in a clear vision statement, adopted unanimously by the congregation,” said the judges.
“It became the basis of subsequent goals, starting with an energy audit and the installation of a 4.2kw solar power system in the form of a cross.
“The greening of Caloundra Church is designed to influence the whole modus operandi of the Church as a leader and participant in developing a sustainable community.”
The award was announced just two weeks after the congregation held their inaugural Fair Trade and Green Market on 22 May which saw around 500 visitors browsing stalls and engaging in issues including the environment and global warming.
Caloundra Uniting Church member Margaret Landbeck said the organising committee were “blessed to have the support of our church community who assisted in so many practical ways”.
She also said a grant from the Sunshine Coast Regional Council was an enormous help in setting up and advertising this event.
“I believe this venture raised our Church’s profile in the community and was a witness to the globally caring nature of the Gospel,” she said.
Photo : A stall at the Fair Trade Fair. Photo courtesy of Margaret Landbeck
