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Green Christian

Ordinary Christians, extraordinary times

GC Rainforest Fund – 100 Churches

  1. Introduction
  2. The need to save habitats
  3. Why your church might like to take part
  4. Which habitats?
  5. Which charities?
  6. Posters/flyers to print to help you in your church
  7. Which churches have taken part so far – is yours here?
  8. More details/FAQs
  9. What to do next

1. Introduction

Green Christian’s “ Rainforest Fund ” is a way to show others that Christians care about God’s Creation.
It is a way to encourage others in your church and community to do deeds to save valuable habitats including Rainforest. 

Protecting natural forests is the most efficient way of

  1. a) keeping carbon in the ground/soil/trunks
  2. b) protecting biodiversity

i.e. if you have £100 to give to protect biodiversity or to reduce climate change this is one of the most effective ways of using it

Green Christian’s “ Rainforest Fund ” is a virtual fund, in that the money raised (to save threatened habit)  goes directly to other charities – mostly World Land Trust, Cool Earth and A Rocha Ghana. (You choose which one of these, or choose one with similar aims). If your church donates £100 or more to a habitat saving charity, let us know and I will add you to the list of active churches .

Please help us show that Christians really do care about wildlife – God’s gift to us and future generations

Join other Christians, (see latest activities) – showing- that Christians care about wildlife:-
– that nature’s diversity is precious.
– that we care that the wild species will still be there for future generations
– that we care for God’s world.

You can support wildlife projects of your own choice that save wildlife habitat, or one of the three charities recommended by us here. But please let us know if you have raised over £100 and we can add it to the chart

GC is seeking 100 churches to raise £100 each for habitat conservation projects  –   Could your church help?

The word “Rainforest” is used here as a symbol  for
any habitat of high biodiversity importance that is under threat
– including elephant corridors, mangrove swamps, marine nature reserves, etc 

Could your church have a fund raising event?

  • to save habitat –
  • or species ?

Please tell Green Christian. We will celebrate the fact by putting a link to you from this website

 

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2. The need to save habitats

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  1. 1/4 of the world’s mammals and  1/5 of the plants are under threat of extinction
  2. Humans – have caused more environmental degradation – in the past 60 years – than in all previous human history put together-
  3. i.e. in OUR lifetime.
  4. Spending £1 to save rainforest from being destroyed can prevent 330kg carbon dioxide being produced – that’s one third of a ton – a better return on £1 for preventing climate change than any other way –
    …(
    alongside some projects to enable family planning/spacing where there is a demand but people are otherwise unable to afford it – e.g. Chase Africa)
  5. Species extinction rates are now 1000 times as great as the natural rate due to habitat loss 
  6. Loss of biodiversity is the greatest of the planetary boundaries

Planetary_Boundaries a

Fig. above: Planetary boundaries according to the paper by Rockström et al. published in Nature 2009.
The red areas represent the estimated current state
with the inner green circle defining the estimated boundaries.

3. Why your church might like to take part

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1.) We want to show the world that Christians care about the gifts God has given us– and care that future generations should enjoy them too.

2.)  Biblical texts about the world and the gifts of animals and plants  show that it is not just a nice hobby to look after nature – but that it is imperative that Christians should look after God’s world

Genesis 1 – “God saw that is was good.” This is God’s world we live in, his gift to us. We owe it to him and to future generations to look after it.

Proverbs 31. 8 – “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves:”- The trees and the endangered animals cannot speak. The indigenous tribes and poor farmers who are thrown off their land by rich plantation farmers have difficulty being heard. Future generations cannot speak – who would like to see orang utans, tigers, whales and other endangered species

Philippians 4 v.8 – “Whatsoever is good – think on this“- The beauty variety and intrinsic worth of species of forest, sea, tundra and swamp is vast. .. as vast – or significantly more vast – perhaps as some of the material things we have to raise money for in our church buildings.

(See also GC’s downloadable leaflet with quotes)

3.)  New friendships and opportunities can ensue:-.There may be opportunity to invite conservationists and wildlife amateurs or experts to you church who are not members of your church.

4. Rainforest  or other habitats?

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We are working to protect Habitats of Biodiversity Importance, not just Rainforests.  However because “Rainforest” is a more succinct, colourful and emotive word than the phrase “Habitats of Biodiversity Importance”, we chose “Rainforest” for the title of the project.

5. Which Charities?

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GC can suggest projects to support.  We recommend:- World Land Trust, Cool Earth and A Rocha Ghana. 

If you support a church abroad, why not ask that church about conservation projects near them, thus increasing both their and your awareness? If you have another favourite “habitat saving” charity already, then please support that – and let us know when you have raised £100 (or more) for it. You might like to support Chase Africa

6. Resources- Posters – for this project

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2)  Posters:
  • Print as A5 handouts, back to back , or
  • Blow up into a huge poster.
    (Many printers will enable you to print your document as a poster made up of 4, 9 or even 16 A4 sheets which can be stuck together. Go into the properties section fro your printer)
Poster A .
100churches-3-gc_Page_1-330 100churches-3-gc_Page_2-330
Poster B .
100churches-gc_Page_2-330 100churches-gc_Page_1-330

100churches-gc

2)  Leaflets:

3) Webpages –

4) Recommended Video:

  • Stations of the Forests – on Youtube. Use this in your church or workplace. High res DVD at UK Columbans+ work book – download booklet

7. Churches which have raised over £100:

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  Date Church Event/Activity County
1 Jan 2008-pres St John’s Methodist Church, Settle Various. Coffee Mornings; Cards N Yorks
2 Jan 2011 Churches Together in Settle and District – Barn Dance N Yorks
3 Summer 2011 Eco-group at Clun Methodist Church Weekend Shropshire
4 Dec 2011 Hartley Wintney Christmas Card Tree Hamps
5 Mar 2012 Hutton Rudby Saving Habitats Quiz Sheet N Yorks
6 June 2012 St Edmunds Church, Roundhay, Leeds raises £600 for Ecuador Open Garden event with strawberry tea N Yorks
7 August 2012 St Ives Free Church, St Ives is aiming to raise over “£100 during the month of August – simply by asking each member fo the congregation to contribute £1 during August .. (by 21st August they have raised £98) Cambs
8 August 2012 Avenue St Andrew’s, URC Southampton raises £553 for A Rocha Ghana Weekend: Children’s talk in service; LOAF Meal, with speaker on chemicals obtained from tropical forest trees. Hamps
9 Summer 2012 Eco-group at Clun Methodist Church raises £100 Weekend Shropshire
10 Jan 2009 -Oct 2013 Settle Spinning Club (not a church but many members attend Settle Churches) Small donations in jar each meeting over 4 years have raised £200 N Yorks
11 Dec 2012 St John’s Methodist Church Settle  Coffee Morning -£100 plus over £100 through selling Judith’s cards over the year N Yorks
12 Dec 2012 Hartley Wintney raise £55 for World Land Trust – then doubled by donating during “The Big Give”  In part by Christmas Card Tree Hamps
13  March 2013 Churches Together in Settle raised £110    A Fair Trade Fortnight Social Event 
 N Yorks
14  Dec 2013 The Eco-Group at Zion United Reformed Church, Northallerton raised £300 for the  World Land Trust Borneo appeal  Green Sunday Service and Christmas Card Appeal – Read about it here  N Yorks
15 4 March 2014 St John’s Methodist Church, Settle raised £120 including £25 from selling cards at the event.
Pancake Coffee Morning –   N Yorks
16 3 March 2015 St John’s Methodist Church, Settle raised £100 (sent to World Land Trust)
2015 Pancake Coffee Morning –   N Yorks
17 1 Dec 2015 St John’s Methodist Church, Settle raised £125 (including  selling cards at the event) Sent to A Rocha International for work in Ghana.
Coffee Morning –   N Yorks
18 2011-2015 Various Green Christian National events
Selling Cards and donations UK
19 2015 Churches Together in Eccles (£100)
Selling Cards  Greater Manchester
20 2015 Salford Methodist Circuit (£100)
Selling Cards  Greater Manchester
21 1 Nov 2016 St John’s Methodist Church, Settle:  £300

Coffee Morning: £155 and Associated Cards £145 N Yorks
 22  March 2017
Bideford Quakers collected £137.20 for Cool Earth
   
 23  April 2017 St Mary and St Michael Catholic Church, Settle raised £300 for World Land Trust  Collections made during Lent  N Yorks
 24  5 May 2017 Churches Together in Settle raised money for  Training of Wildlife guides and dictionary in Borneo (c £100)   

 

 

 
Barn Dance  N Yorks
 25  1 Aug 2017   St John’s Methodist Church, Settle raised £100  at talk on “Wildflower Walks around Settle” – £78 from talk and rest from cards.  N Yorks
 26  6 Dec 2017   St John’s Methodist Church, Settle  £235 from coffee morning and sale of cards.  N Yorks
 27 Spring 2018   Settle Spinning Club (not a church but many members attend Settle Churches Small donations in jar each meeting over 4 years have raised £100  N Yorks
 28  Nov 2018  £210 from Churches Together in Charlbury, Oxfordshire Collection from United Service on 21 Oct 2018 Oxon
 29  2 Nov 2018   St John’s Methodist Church, Settle Coffee Morning – £115  N Yorks
30 Dec 2018 Two members of Green Christian Together donated to Cool Earth £150  
31 April 2019 Christine,  an individual in a Bristol Catholic Church Donated £100 to World Land Trust, as a result of saving money over Lent through giving up Cappuccinos and avoiding using single use plastic over Lent. Bristol
 32 June 2019 St John & St Stephen’s Church in Reading, Gave £100 from our general giving to World Land Trust – and then had a church lunch which raised another £178.  Reading
33  5 Nov 2019   St John’s Methodist Church, Settle Coffee Morning – £170.64  N Yorks
 34 1 Jan 2020 All Saints Church, Leighton Buzzard
Partners In Mission group donated £125 to the World Land Trust and the Rainforest Fund as part of our Eco Church award programme.
 Bedfordshire
35  July 2020

Stratford upon Avon Methodist Church

Donated £300 -£100 to World Land Trust, £100 to Cool Earth,  and £100 to Arocha International Forests Programme Stratford upon Avon
36  Sept 2021

Little Neston Methodist Church, The Wirral

£215.90,  sent to A Rocha International for their work in Ghana.

 The Wirral
37 Dec 2021

Settle Methodist Church

£110  Coffee Morning and Card sale

North Yorkshire
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We have 37 events/churches   listed but 5 of the churches have donated more than once, some several times! – In fact, only 18 different churches have taken part. Could your church help?

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8. Download doc file of Frequently Asked Questions about the project

More details:- Phone             01729 822138  webeditor@greenchristian.org.uk

 

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9. What to do next

What would you recommend doing next? Mean while do contact me webeditor@greenchristian.org.uk and we’ll arrange to have a chat

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cards-at-langcliffe-sale-2011NEW: Right: See some of the wildlife hand-made and limited-run greetings cards being sold to raise money for the Rainforest Fund. These cards are produced by two GC members: Mark Boulton  (Animals and plants in UK and Africa) and Judith Allinson (Plants from UK and Yorkshire Dales) to be sold in aid of the Rainforest Fund. If you would like a selection to sell please contact Judith Allinson. Click for more examples and details