Home Page About ECEN Orientation Page Contents & Site Map What's New? Notice Board Join the Network Add Material to Site

ECEN Assemblies ECEN Working Groups Countries & Regions Organisation Links ECEN Secretariat ECEN Webmaster ECEN Enabling Team ECEN Resources

Aims and Tasks of the
Working Group on Church & Environment
of the Council of Churches of the Netherlands

Concern for a liveable earth

Working Group on Church & Environment – Why?

The Working Group on Church & Environment’s main aim is to emphasize the importance for christians to deal with nature and the environment in a responsible way.

The Working Group wants to achieve a high priority for environmental issues within the Christian Churches. The Working Group tries to get those issues to be integrated in worship and liturgy, in the sermon, catechesis and in (local) volunteer- and charity-work.

The Working Group on Church & Environment conducts its work on an ecumenical basis.

Target-groups

The Working Group on Church & Environment wants to reach four target-groups:

• 1- members of local parishes;
• 2- semi-church and society groups, for example (religious) women-organisations, unions etc.;
• 3- the management and staff of the various churches;
• 4- (religious) nature- and environment groups.

Churches and parishes can stimulate their members to consider environmental issues and to develop activities. Not only local groups but also the ‘church-management’ are asked to participate, so as to achieve that churches are locally, regionally ànd nationally involved in environmental issues.

Being linked up with the Council of Churches of the Netherlands, the Working Group Church & Environment focuses both on the Catholic and on the Protestant churches in the Netherlands.

Tasks

The Working Group on Church & Environment wants to carry out four tasks in the next years:

1. Maintaining and supporting the own network

The Working Group maintains a network of local environmental groups and contact-persons. The Working Group wants to enlarge and strengthen this network. Thus, Church & Environment is supporting these groups with new ideas, material and advice.

The importance of being part of a network is that local initiatives are not isolated tiny attempts: instead, they are connected with initiatives elsewhere, form part of a movement.

Four times a year the Working Group publishes a leaflet with liturgical suggestions on how to integrate environmental issues into the Sunday service. Furthermore, brochures and materials are published on various issues.

2. The organisation of workshops and working-days

Workshops and working-days are held on a national and a regional level to keep churchpeople actively involved. The workshops are meant to support and encourage those who try to make clear that taking care of God's Creation should be an integral part of church policy.

3. Distribution of the Church & Environment Journal

This journal appears three times a year. It publishes information and ideas to all who are engaged with environmental issues in local churches.

4. Maintaining contact with and representing other (environmental) organisations

The Working Group co-operates with various other religious and non-religious organisations - for example with the Franciscans and with the representative of Friends of the Earth in the Nethaerlands. Furthermore the Working Group has a representative in the National Board for International Co-operation and Sustainable Development.

Visit our own Working Group on Church and Environment Website (in Dutch)
Go to ECEN's Working Group on Church & Environment page (in English)

Back to ECEN Netherlands page