Give to Go Green is a match funding project from the Church of England towards schemes which help churches to cut their carbon footprint.
The project was first piloted last year in the Dioceses of Leeds and Exeter and helped 27 churches to raise £162,000 for small scale net zero projects. It has since been expanded into a second pilot of seven dioceses, which now includes Winchester.
Churches apply for a grant to fund projects such as LED light installations, insulation, solar panels, heat pumps or new heating control systems. If they are successful, they can raise up to £10,000 towards the improvements. This will then be matched in funds by the Church of England’s Net Zero Programme.
The scheme is also seen as a chance for parishes to engagethe community in conversations about the world and green issues.
St Bartholomew’s Church in Winchester hopes to raise £10,000 towards the purchase and installation of two air source heat pumps, which is part of a larger overall refurbishment of the church due to start this summer.
The church kick-started its fundraising campaign with a Give to Go Green drop-in day. This included a number of green-themed activities for adults and children, as well as engaging people in the plans for the church and advice on green retrofitting improvements to their own homes.
Mallory McManus helped organise the Give to Go Green day and said, “We themed today’s activities around the Go Green net zero targets of the grant and the match funding that we’re receiving. We’ve had two 10-minute talks by the ‘My Home Made Better’ service that offers advice to people trying to green their own homes. We’ve had Go Green Bingo and junk modelling for kids, who have reused materials usually put in the recycling bin to make various creations. People have been able to plant a sunflower to bring a little green life to the garden. We’ve got a recycle reuse area to exchange books and toys, and a jigsaw puzzle that is all about community building as well.”
The Church of England has partnered with the online platform ‘Give A Little’, which helps collect the donations, and automatically pays out the match funded amount, if the church achieves its target. Donations must be received within a six-week window.
St Bartholomew’s Give to Go Green day is part of a series of events to raise funds and involve people across the community in their plans. During the six weeks, a number of art lectures and coffee mornings are planned and later in June there will be a medieval herb garden party.
Andy Wainewright, PCC member and former churchwarden, said, “I think it’s very important, not only the fact that we’re being very green but it’s something the Church of England wants to do and are supporting us with this grant. It’s putting the church at the heart of the community too. The more people that we can encourage to come to the church, the more we will help it to grow. We are seeing and encouraging more young families to come and that helps us because they are the future of the church.”
St Bartholomew’s is a church of historic significance within Winchester. It was built in 1110 as the lay church connected to Hyde Abbey, which in turn was erected to protect and honour the remains of King Alfred the Great and his wife Alswytha.
The church hopes its refurbishment will “create a modern, versatile, and welcoming church interior that will strengthen St Bartholomew’s role as a centre for the community” as well as making the church building greener and more efficient to run.
The Mayor of Winchester Cllr Sudhakar Achwal and local MP Danny Chambers visited St Bartholomew’s Give to Go Green Day. It raised over £2,400 on the day, which will be doubled by the Church of England grant.
Mallory added, “This is an historic church that has been here for 915 years. I think that, because it’s been here for so long, each generation has a responsibility to ensure the church survives and continues serving the community around it forever more into the future. This is a big moment to really reinvigorate it and give it a big step change in its current state of repair. We’re also bringing it into the future in a way that’s vibrant and respecting the planet.”
Give to Go Green is part of the Church of England’s ambitious Net Zero Carbon Programme, which aims to reduce carbon emissions from the energy used in its churches, schools, cathedrals, houses and other buildings by 2030.
