Celebrating Harvest at SBC 

With an increasing awareness of how the choices we make impact the environment around us, one of the terms we’ve all become familiar with is ‘carbon footprint’. When we make decisions about where to go and how to travel, many of us will now consider the impact our mode of transport will have. Years ago, few of us knew what the term ‘CO2 emissions’ meant, but now it’s entered our everyday lexicon.

When we consider greenhouse gas emissions, our first thoughts are probably about planes, trains and cars. But did you know that food production is responsible for a quarter of these gases? The impact foods have on the environment isn’t just related to transportation. A recent study by Oxford University found that ‘meat and other animal products are responsible for more than half of food-related greenhouse gas emissions, despite providing only a fifth of the calories we eat and drink’.¹ Plant-based products tend to have a much smaller carbon footprint because of the less intensive methods required to produce, package and transport these items.

¹Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46459714 

Our Harvest celebration services will be taking place on Sunday 13 October. In the morning, our speaker will be Rev Dr Dave Gregory, Convenor of the Baptist Union Environmental Network and a former president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. Dave has previously worked in weather and climate research at us to understand more about how our choices of food and drink impact our neighbours and the beautiful and good creation God has given us to look after.

During this service we will also be collecting food and other items for The Vine foodbank, run by the Salvation Army in New Addington. They’ve asked that we don’t donate baked beans or pulses (they already have plenty of these), but have provided a list of the following items which they’re in need of:
 

• Tinned meats/meat meals
• Cooking oil
• Long-life milk
• Pasta sauce
• Jam/peanut butter
• Tinned puddings
• Tinned fruit
• Tinned vegetables and sweetcorn
• Tinned soup
• Tinned tuna, 
• Toilet rolls
• Shampoo
• Washing-up liquid