Jack Nevin travelled to Shetland last month to visit with the charges of St Magnus in Lerwick and St Colman in Burravoe. Jack was supported by Martin Auld (convenor of the Environment Group for the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney) on the trip, and was greeted both by fantastic weather and friendly receptions.
St Magnus in Lerwick is an active church which serves the mainland of Shetland, with attendees in some cases travelling more than an hour to attend. St Magnus is one of two churches in Lerwick open daily, with their engaged congregation contributing to a rich and active spiritual life. Additionally, St Magnus acts as a beacon of environmental action and are well on their way to achieving bronze accreditation from Eco-congregation Scotland.
St Magnus has a small, but active eco-group which is organising to make positive changes within their community. They have conducted evaluations of their buildings and are considering how to combine environmental measures with essential works. There is a recently reinstated eco-newsletter, which aim to keep the congregation aware of church, local, national and global environmental actions and concerns.
Climate and the environment play a regular role in the spiritual life of the church and are a focus for prayer and worship. A small green area next to the church has been cleaned and cleared, allowing local flora to take root and create a biodiverse wild area right on church land. St Magnus is also working towards becoming a fair-trade church, conscious of the positive impact their consumer-decisions make on the wider community and our global neighbours.
The hall and church buildings at St Magnus are on the Shetland Community District Heating Network, which provides affordable, sustainable and local energy for their heating and hot-water. The Lerwick district heating scheme is the most efficient in Scotland and is setting the example for the rest of the country as they develop plans for community heating and waste management. Around a quarter of all heating and hot-water in Shetland is provided by district heating, with the Lerwick waste to energy plant (supplying the district heating) being the most efficient in Scotland with the lowest emissions (with combined emissions (kg CO2e per kWh being 0.0575). (Data provided by Shetland Heat Energy & Power and Government Standard Assessment Procedure for Energy Rating of Dwellings) More will be shared about a visit to the District Heating Facility in a forthcoming blog-post.
St Colman in Burravoe is a small church with a tight-knit and well-connected community. The church is open 24 hours a day to serve Lower Yell, with multiple family services a year bringing various residents of the island together in worship. The church is well-used throughout the year and is known by the community as ‘the Burravoe Church’. They are soon to be installing a timer on their boiler to ensure that it is used as efficiently as possible and only heating the building when necessary.
During the visit, Jack had the opportunity to meet with members of both congregations and share encouragement, recommendations and resources. In addition to visiting the charges, a joint-zoom was held where all congregation members were welcome to attend. A presentation was given by Jack and Martin, with time for any questions to be asked. During the online meeting, there was a feeling of optimism and an eye towards future action. There is an appetite for environmental action in Shetland with the Scottish Episcopal Church playing their part, led by the eco-group at St Magnus.
Jack Nevin, Innovation Coordinator
