29th August 2025

Lancashire-wide 'Creationtide' campaign encourages eco-church participation

Church of England parishes across Lancashire are being encouraged to sign-up to become ‘eco-churches’ if they haven’t already done so, as part of a new video-led campaign fronted by the Bishop of Burnley, Rt Rev. Dr Joe Kennedy.

If parishes are already involved they are being asked to consider what the can do to push further onward in the work to protect and preserve God’s creation that surrounds us.

The regional campaign begins at the start of the season of ‘Creationtide’– an important part of the church calendar which runs from September 1 to October 4 and is dedicated to God as Creator and Sustainer of all life. Resources for churches to celebrate and mark Creationtide can be found here.

The ecumenical eco-church initiative is run nationally by an organisation called A Rocha, a Christian charity working to protect and restore the natural world and committed to equipping Christians and churches in the UK to care for the environment.

In Lancashire, there are 109 churches registered as eco-churches with 25 of these having ‘silver status’ and the rest currently bronze. Blackburn Diocese as a whole also has bronze status while the Diocesan Offices on the edge of Blackburn are silver, alongside the Cathedral (bronze) and the Bishop’s House office in Salesbury (silver).

The County churches creation care activities are almost as diverse as the nature being cared for … with stories of churches partnering on projects together to improve their local environment; working with schools; improving local biodiversity; conducting forest church services and much more.

Now Bishop Joe wants to encourage more of this work to take place. In the new video, filmed in the countryside near Great Mitton All Hallows Church and available across all the Diocese’s social channels, including Facebook and here on YouTube, he says to people in our parishes: “As we praise God the Creator, we also remember God’s command for us to act as stewards of his creation. Alongside giving your prayerful thanks for his bounty at this time I’d also like to invite you take action in another way ... by visiting the Eco-Church website.

“Many of our parishes are already registered but if your church isn’t one of them, why not register today? Then you can take the survey you will find on the website and begin the exciting journey towards bronze, silver or gold eco-church status. 

“If you have registered already why not log in again today and have another look at the survey? It could be a step towards the next level, silver or even gold.”

Bishop Joe also encourages parishes to support plans for a new national Festival coming in 2026 adding: “As we enter Creationtide, I also want to invite you to join me in looking forward to a proposed new 'Festival of God the Creator' which General Synod has considered. It will be part of the church calendar from 2026 onwards – on September 1 each year.

“This new festival will have deep roots in the Bible and in Christian tradition … and will point us surely and simply to God, the one who creates. It will be a thoroughly Trinitarian festival – praising the Father who is the maker of all things, the Son through whom all things are made, and the Spirit, who is the giver of life.”

The new video from Bishop Joe also coincides with a national CofE campaign ‘The Big Switch for Creation’ taking place during the season ahead to encourage and support churches to switch to renewable energy for their buildings.

They can do so by choosing a green energy tariff as an act of faith, aligned with the CofE’s wider net zero mission. Find out more about The Big Switch Campaign including more about how to switch, all here.

Captions for the above photos, top to bottom:

• Bishop Joe Kennedy, Bishop of Burnley, in the new video released today
• The beautiful countryside of Great Mitton near All Hallows Church features in the new video

Ronnie Semley, August 2025