The Net Zero Team held their next Net Zero Roadshow event for the Glasgow & Galloway Diocese on Saturday 15th November at Holy Trinity & St Barnabas, Paisley. The day was well attended with over fifty people representing charges, diocesan committees and external organisations.
We were delighted to be joined by the Dean of the Diocese, the Very Rev Reuben Preston, who provided a warm welcome and passed on a message from the Rt Rev Nicholas Bundock, Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway. Rebecca Cadie, Diocesan Architect and Paul Williams, Net Zero Delivery Director, added their words of welcome.
The morning workshops were as follows:
- Charlie Meiklejohn and Lauren Petherbridge ran the Christian Aid workshop, showing how churches can engage with their Restore Campaign.
- Anne-Marie ran a National Churches Trust workshop on church building maintenance and grant funding, for example through the Cherish Grant.
- The Church Building Solutions workshop benefitted from many experts in the room who discussed the challenges and solutions for energy efficiency and clean heating in heritage buildings.
After the morning workshops we had our Sharing Stories session. We firstly heard from Rebecca Cadie, Diocesan Architect, who described the exciting Benefact Trust Pioneer Project at St Mary’s Hamilton. This project will see a solar array installed on the church hall roof, which will provide clean energy throughout the week for the Beech Tree Café, other hall users and church services.
Secondly, we were inspired by John Wiggins from St Augustine’s Dumbarton, the Benefact Trust Pilot Project, where four out of six Flexel infra-red panels have been installed and are already improving thermal comfort and reducing heating expenditure. These heating panels will initially be used as a hybrid system until the gas boiler can be replaced with a heat pump.
John reminded us that “we need to dream – to be rooted in reality, yes, but also to dream big dreams as big dreams are often followed by big funding opportunities”. John also encouraged us to “not give up when the going gets tough”.
Next, we heard from Judith Johnstone from Holy Trinity & St Barnabas, who spoke about the many ways the church has explored the various petals of the provincial Net Zero Action Plan. The church has partnered with Trees for Life, donating a tree to their grove each month. Congregation members can buy a tree to mark a life event or as an act of remembrance. Judith also mentioned that the church is part of the Renfrewshire Climate Action Network and is looking at next steps for improving the energy efficiency of their building following a Business Energy Scotland report.
We then heard from the young people of Holy Trinity & St Barnabas (Spirit Sparks group – led by Alan Potter). The Spirit Sparks told us about their art project to repurpose broken roof slates when the church roof was recently repaired. Much of the slate artwork has been sold to raise money for charity, and attendees at the Roadshow event were encouraged to have a go at decorating their own slate piece.
Conversations continued over lunch, which was a fantastic spread of salads and sandwiches provided by Trail Grazers.
After lunch, participants chose to join one of the following workshops:
- A HeatHack workshop, provided by Jean Carletta, which explored ways churches can improve energy efficiency and reduce energy bills in their buildings.
- A Faith in Communities workshop, given by Allan Ramsay, looking at the many ways funding can be accessed and used to support energy efficiency and retrofit projects for church buildings.
- The Church Building Solutions workshop also ran again for anyone who missed it in the morning.
Our day ended with closing worship, led by Ian Arbon from the Diocesan Environment Group.
As we held before God the work of the Glasgow & Galloway Diocese to care for creation, we remembered world leaders and decision makers at COP30, protestors at the Climate March in Glasgow and all those around the globe impacted by climate change.
We pray for your created world. You created the universe and all that lives and exists in it. The earth is filled with your creations…
We pray for humanity, for every community, and every person in it. Grant that we may treat our fellow human beings with respect: that we may accept all in their diversity, that we may support and uphold the human dignity of our neighbours…Grant us understanding, responsible thinking, and valuable work.
We pray for your Church, that she may be a messenger of life and an agent of your love throughout the world. Instil courage in the hearts of those who follow you, that we may dare to proclaim hope to those who live in fear, encouragement to those who doubt, comfort to those who despair.
Give your Church the strength of unity to proclaim your Gospel in word and deed as part of the world in crisis.
Taken from the prayers used in the Closing Worship (Season of Creation Material – Peace with Creation 2025)
Reflections from event attendees
“The day was helpful all round and there was good sharing of what churches are doing.”
“I was expecting the event to be general awareness-raising but in fact there was excellent information sharing which exceeded my expectations.”
“The sharing of the St Augustine’s project was practical, inspiring and encouraging.”
“Top marks for the lunch – very healthy and tasty.”
Bethany Nelson, Empowerment Coordinator
