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These examples of two eco-vicarages in the Diocese of Worcester show very different approaches to cutting energy use whilst creating comfortable clergy homes.
One is a new build, to the principles of the passivhaus standard. By creating buildings that are air tight and well insulated, the main purpose of the passivhaus idea is to ensure that as little energy as possible is lost. The heat recovery system means that they do not draw on a lot of energy, while extra features, such as solar panels, work to reduce their carbon footprint in other ways.
The second is a retrofit of an existing clergy house, which now has loft insulation, external insulation, double-glazing, and an efficient gas boiler. Retaining what you have, rather than from building something new, retains all the 'embodied carbon' in the existing house.
This page contains a short format video, a written case study, two longer videos and a section with faith-based discussion questions.
Read the Case Study below.
Worcester Eco-Vicarages | The Church of England
Discussion Questions for "Why we acted"
Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
In this video, people are sharing the motivation which led them to get involved with this environmental project. They share lots of ideas, prayers and hopes which you might like to discuss. Here are a few questions to help you think, but you might like to start your discussions by talking about the parts of the video that stood out most to you. This video is part of a set of videos, and there are some common themes across them all, particularly around ‘stewardship’ and caring for creation, and around justice for people in poor countries or for future generations. So other videos might include some interesting questions which relate to this video too. Feel free to explore them all!
Andy refers to a passage in Revelation which talks about the end times, when heaven and earth will be made new. He talks about the earth, God’s creation, not being discarded, but being fulfilled. What do you think is the significance of the earth having eternal value in how we treat the earth? Does it change what you do or how you behave?
Sue talks about enjoying creation, but not consuming more than we need. What role do you think greed and selfishness play in environmental destruction? How do we counteract this as Christians? How do we decide what is enough?