With continued blessings for the work you do,  

Rosalind

Rosalind Cooper

Net Zero Carbon Programme Manager

Rosalind was recently interviewed by the Environment team at the Church of England about her role as Net Zero Carbon (NZC) Programme Manager for the Diocese of Leeds. As ever, Rosalind is very happy to take any questions or hear suggestions about the environmental work of the diocese; do contact her at

rosalind.cooper@leeds.anglican.org. Rosalind is also available as a speaker at Deanery Synods or occasionally for Carbon Literacy training – so do get in touch if of interest. 

Rosalind also attended the national conference for Church of England NZC colleagues in March, which featured a ‘Tree of Hope’ art installation that grew as the two days progressed. Churches are encouraged to create their own ‘Trees of Hope’ (although many already have something akin to this in their prayer trees) as well as submitting prayers which will be taken to General Synod; more information can be found here and here.

The Net Zero Carbon Quick Wins Fund is once again open for applications. Since 2024, the fund has supported over 35 churches/church halls across the Diocese of Leeds with projects ranging from installing efficient kitchen appliances, to LED lighting, to improved insulation. Churches submit one application form which is considered against three separate funds. Read more about the fund here and find the application form here. The deadline for applications is Tuesday, June 30, for review at a grants panel in mid-July. Please contact resourcingparishes@leeds.anglican.org with any questions.  

And a reminder that the Stewardship team can offer 1:1 fundraising calls and set parishes up with the Cornerstone fundraising platform – contact

resourcingparishes@leeds.anglican.org for more information.  

In order to be eligible for the Net Zero Carbon Quick Wins fund, churches must be registered for Eco Church and have completed their Energy Footprint Tool. A reminder that the National Church has released a helpful walk-through video on how to complete the EFT, which can be accessed here. The EFT is submitted via the Parish Returns System and the deadline is also Tuesday, June 30. Please contact

parishreturns@leeds.anglican.org with any questions you may have.  

Many churches across the diocese have received an ‘energy audit’ in the last few years, investigating heating and lighting systems and highlighting opportunities to cut costs and transition away from fossil fuels. If your church has not received an audit and you would like to be considered for one, please contact the Net Zero Carbon Church Buildings Officer Alasdair Hicks (alasdair.hicks@leeds.anglican.org) for more information.  

Alasdair is also available to have 1:1 conversations about your church’s bespoke energy use and heating/lighting profile, so do get in contact with him for support.  

Increasingly, churches are considering installing heat pumps as replacements for fossil fuel (oil and gas) boilers that have come to the end of their serviceable life. This national scheme, Visit a Heat Pump, where heat pump owners can invite interested parties to visit their system might therefore provide some guidance; whilst it mainly supports those looking at domestic systems, it may be able to answer more generic concerns around installation, training maintenance. Or it could support those in your congregation who are looking to transition to a heat pump at home! As ever, do contact the Church Buildings Team for more support if you are thinking of installing a heat pump in your church at

alasdair.hicks@leeds.anglican.org.  

The RSPB has updated their guidance on ‘what and when’ to feed garden (or churchyard) birds, in response to concerns around trichomonosis, ‘a highly contagious disease [which can] spread where birds gather in large numbers such as at bird feeders’. 

Registrations are now open for Churches Count on Nature (CCoN), an annual scheme where ‘people visit churchyards and record the plant and animal species they encounter’. This year, CCoN takes place between Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 14, during which there will also be five lunchtime webinars. For more information visit here and for the webinars click here.

St Lucius’ Farnley Tyas have recently hosted a highly successful ‘Crafty Swop Shop’ to support their twinned parish of Rorya in Tanzania. This event brought together the Farnley Tyas Community Group, the Women’s Institute, and the St Lucius’ Eco-group. Through their joint efforts, the event managed to raise £600, enough to provide a flock of sheep for their twin parish of Rorya in Tanzania. Read more here.

An interesting news story from the Bath and Wells Diocese on how churches can work with educational institutions for mutual flourishing. Rosalind is keen to link churches with schools to support environmental initiatives so do get in touch with her at

rosalind.cooper@leeds.anglican.org if you have a project in mind.  

Green Christian are recruiting trustees and participating in the ‘A Million Acts of Hope’ project, which aims to demonstrate that ‘there is more that connects us than divides us’. Click here for more information on A Million Acts of Hope, including an invitation to a workshop and an article that can be included in your parish magazine.

The success of November 2025’s COP30 climate change conference was regarded as hindered by the presence of fossil fuel lobbyists. In response, an entirely new ‘International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels’ was recently held in Colombia, and welcomed perspectives from Indigenous Peoples, farmers, workers and academics, as well as international governments. We look forward to hearing more about the outcomes of this hopeful event.  

Send us your sustainability success stories for the next edition of God’s Green Fingers. The deadline is Friday, July 3.  

People's Emergency Briefing Screenings

As mentioned in the introduction, churches across the United Kingdom are responding to the urgency of the climate crisis and existential threat to God’s creation by holding screenings of the People’s Emergency Briefing, and facilitating discussions between attendees. The briefing is a ‘hard-hitting’ 45-minute film condensing key points from the individual presentations given by experts in their fields to over 1,000 MPs and changemakers at the National Emergency Briefing back in November 2025. The film (certified 12A and ‘hosted’ by Chris Packham) urgently presents the latest science on diverse aspects of the intertwined climate and ecological crises including sections on weather extremes; tipping points within our earth systems; the atmospheric necessity of net zero carbon emissions and many other topics. A child-friendly version for schools has also been created and can be found here, with a teacher support document here.

The Church of England has also produced specific resources to assist churches who are holding screenings, which can be found here and here.

It’s very encouraging to see that churches and church halls are holding these screenings, and more are being added all the time on the interactive map:

Wakefield Cathedral: Friday, June 12 at 7pm

Clayton St John: Saturday, June 13 at 4pm

Shipley St Peter: Saturday, June 27 at 7pm 

Positive Imaginings Circus Show and Woodland Workshop - Monday, May 25

1.30pm-4.30pm at Northcliffe Woods, Bradford. A ‘Hope for the Future’ family-friendly, free event. Details here.

Rural Ministry Forum - Wednesday, June 3

9.30am at Ripon Cathedral. You are warmly invited to attend this event, which will look at “Being inspired by Regenerative Farming and Food Innovation”. Lunch is provided. For more information click here and to sign up use this link.

Parish Energy Webinar - Wednesday, June 10

12pm, online. The Church of England’s green bulk-buying energy offer, will be holding an online interactive webinar. There will be time at the end for questions, and the link to register is here.

Green Journey Webinar - Thursday, June 11

10am, online. The Green Journey scheme, who have worked in partnership with the Diocese of Leeds since 2015, supports churches to reduce their environmental impact through renewable energy procurement, energy audits, and sustainability advice and support. The webinar will also be recorded for those who are unable to attend due to other commitments. The link will be distributed via Enews, so please do subscribe to that newsletter here.

Resurrected Bites - Various

Anglican and Methodist churches in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Killinghall hold ‘Resurrected Bites’ cafes on Wednesdays-Fridays, diverting good food away from landfill by cooking tasty, pay-as-you-feel meals for the community. Details here.

Eco Church is 10 years old in 2026! Click here for more information on how you might wish to mark this milestone.

We hope to hold a webinar (re)introducing churches to Eco Church on Thursday, June 18 from 12pm-1pm. More information about this will be distributed via Enews closer to the time so do make sure you are subscribed and save the date! 

Congratulations to South Stainley St Wilfrid and Wetherby St James, who have recently been awarded Eco Church Silver awards! 

God our Creator, 

Father of Mercy, 

We thank you that we gather together... 

We thank you for the world 

that you have made— 

for soil and streams, mountains and music, 

flowers and fauna, laughter and love, 

dancing and daffodils, flamingos and food… 

In these strange and difficult days, 

we ask that you would mould us 

and shape us into the image of your Son, 

and our Saviour, Jesus. 

May we, like him, be people of justice. 

Rev’d Jon Swales, from Prayers for the Climate and Ecological Emergency 

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