Over 5,500 churches and cathedrals across the country have switched to green sources of power in an effort to do their bit in the war against climate change.
Estimates indicate that the switch will transfer around £5m that was being funnelled into fossil fuels into the renewable energy sector.
The move is a unifying effort within the Christian faith with various denominations making the change over including, the Church of England (CoE), Baptist, Catholic, Quaker and Methodist churches. all taking part with the A spokesperson for the CoE describeding climate change as “one of the great moral challenges of our time”.
The new move means that there are now thousands of Christian places of worship that are now running entirely on renewable energy. Included in this is a large number of cathedrals who are running on 100% green energy thanks to the CoE’s Parish Buying scheme diverting it’s bulk energy purchasing away from fossil fuels.
Various other smaller churches have made the transition to green energy through the Big Church Switch scheme which has been spearheaded by charities Tearfund and Christian Aid.
Nicholas Holtam, the Church of England’s lead bishop on the environment, described climate change as “an enormous injustice” which “hurts the poor first and worst”.
“It’s fantastic to see churches doing their bit to ensure they reduce their impact on the environment. They are also giving a boost to clean energy, which is essential to reduce harmful carbon emissions,” he said.
“Switching to responsible sources of electricity may seem like a small thing on its own, but when joined together it can make a real difference.”
Rowan Williams, former archbishop of Canterbury and now the chair of Christian Aid, spoke of how the CoE had committed to a greener future by selling all their shares in fossil fuels company who were not on target to meet the parameters set out by the Paris agreement.
“Churches are part of a global network and so are often very aware of the plight of our brothers and sisters suffering from droughts, floods and extreme weather around the world,” he said.
The news is the latest in a series of revelations that seem to indicate Christianity making an active effort to modernise itself in the UK. Some churches have recently agreed to allow parts of its spires to be used to transmit phone and 4g signal whereas others have begun using contactless payments to take donations during congregations.
