Helping churches deal with timely issues around energy saving and climate resilience is part of training from our Church Buildings Team this autumn.

Alongside sessions on health and safety, the team will be offering training on how to reduce energy usage in churches in the short- and longer-term, as well how we protect our buildings from harm caused by evermore common extreme weather events.

The energy saving and heating session will be in two parts, covering tips on quick and easy actions that can be taken to reduce energy use of church buildings and halls, followed by how to plan for the longer term by looking into options for an improved heating system. 

The first part of the session is intended to both aid PCCs in managing the increased cost of energy as we enter the winter months and to make lasting positive changes for the environment. 

The second part of the session will start PCCs on the journey towards replacing carbon-hungry heating systems with more sustainable installations.

The climate resilience session will look at how we can protect our church buildings from harm and the impact of extreme weather, and become a climate resilient church. 

Church buildings are often solidly built and, when maintained well, have withstood the weather over the centuries. 

However, as the climate changes, and weather events becomes more extreme, they can become vulnerable. 

The session aims to help churches prepare for the warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers that climate change is causing, as well as for extreme weather events such as flooding and heatwaves.

Lisa McIntyre, Church Buildings and Pastoral Reorganisation Team Leader, said: “We’re pleased to be able to offer this series of training sessions on some really important topics to churchwardens, incumbents, and anyone with responsibilities for church buildings. 

“In addition to the always essential subject of health and safety (for which we encourage people to have a refresher, even if they think they’ve heard it before), we have developed new sessions on the increasingly urgent topics of energy saving and adapting to climate change to assist PCCs in taking steps which will help them directly and help the environment.”

The full programme can be found below.

To book a place please email Rob Andrews, Church Buildings and Pastoral Reorganisation Team Coordinator at rob.andrews [at] leeds.anglican.org. 

• Wednesday, October 12, 15:00 – 16:00 – Health & Safety (Church House; in-person session)
• Wednesday October 19, 18:30 – 19:30 – Health & Safety (Zoom)
• Wednesday November 2, 18:30 – 19:30 – Heating/Energy Saving (Zoom)
• Wednesday November 9, 12:00 – 13:00 – Heating/Energy Saving (Zoom)
• Wednesday November 16, 15:00 – 16:00 – Climate Resilience (in-person)