#Pennies4Plastics: A Lenten Initiative from the Church of Ireland, Eco-Congregation Ireland and the Representative Church Body

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Pennies4PlasticsThroughout Lent 2019, the Church of Ireland Bishops’ Appeal, Eco-Congregation Ireland and the Representative Church Body (RCB) will be inviting individuals, families, parishes, schools, and Sunday schools and clubs to prayerfully reduce their use of plastic.

#Pennies4Plastics is an exciting initiative that celebrates God’s Creation, challenges us to make small changes this Lent that help protect this Creation, and raises vital funds for Waste Aid which supports recycling in the Gambia, where many communities have no formal waste management system.  It encourages all those taking part to:

1.     Get informed about single-use plastic;

2.     Get busy making changes (with lots of different ideas);

3.     Learn about how plastic waste is being transformed in the Gambia; and

4.     Pray for the important environmental issues around waste and plastics.

A resource, full to the brim with everything you need to reduce plastic waste and help others to do the same, is now available (at www.bishopsappeal.ireland.anglican.org/pennies4plastics).  This can be downloaded in full or in four different sections covering information, action, giving, and school assemblies and All Age Worship.  You can also download labels and attach them to recyclable jars for your Lenten collection.

Lydia Monds, Education Advisor with Bishops’ Appeal, says: ‘As we compiled this resource we learned some startling facts.  Eight million tonnes of plastic is ending up in the oceans each year – that’s the weight of roughly a billion elephants.  Also, Ireland is by far the EU’s worst offender when it comes to buying single-use plastics.  And in countries where there are no waste management systems, people’s health is suffering from the mass burning of plastics whilst their livestock become ill and can die from ingesting plastic.  This is not an issue for an enthusiastic few; for Christians who worship the God of all Creation, this is an issue for all of us.  Take prayerful action with us this Lent.’

Donations can be made online (at https://store.ireland.anglican.org/donations), through a bank lodgement, or by euro or sterling cheque (details for these payment methods are online at www.bishopsappeal.ireland.anglican.org).  Funds donated as part of #Pennies4Plastics will be match-funded by Bishops’ Appeal and the RCB.

The resource is available via the links below: