Sponsored by
St Andrew's, Roundhay: Church presented with eco-congregation award
The new Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Frank Robinson, has presented the Eco-Congregation award to St Andrew's United Reformed Church in Roundhay.
He presented the award at the service of dedication of St Andrew's newly landscaped grounds on Sunday, May 25, led by Rev Dr Stephen Orchard, Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church.
Presenting the award on behalf of Eco-Congregation, the Lord Mayor, who is also chairman of Leeds in Bloom, said, "This is a subject close to my heart. I cast a critical eye when I came in and I was pleased with what I saw. I like to hear about sustainability and bio-diversity. The assessors for the award were very pleased with what they found at St Andrew's, saying there were exemplary buildings and grounds, with sustainability a core driver. Congratulations!"
The award was received on behalf of St Andrew's by Emily Clarke, one of the younger members of the congregation. The award is a plaque made from a fallen oak tree in Scotland. Eco-Congregation encourages churches to address environmental issues in all they do.
Dedicating the newly landscaped grounds, which are in the shape of three Celtic knots, Stephen Orchard looked forward to the whole community enjoying the gardens. He led prayers that the gardens would "Remind us of the garden where Jesus wept, and be a place of consolation for those who find life hard; remind us of the garden where Mary met the risen Jesus; and be a place that inspires us with new hope."
After the service the Lord Mayor and Dr Orchard planted a commemorative tree.
The service was attended by guests including: those from the graduate year in Architecture, Landscape and Design at Leeds Metropolitan University who had been involved in developing the grounds; representatives of the generous funders: Leeds City Council North East (Inner) Area WellBeing Fund, Green Leeds Ltd, and the Westhill Endowment Trust (registered charity, number 1104736); Roundhay Ward Councillor Valerie Kendall; and Aqila Choudhry of the Liberal Democrats.
"We thank God for the gift of these gardens, which are for the whole community," concluded Rev David Pickering, minister at St Andrew's. "This has been a wonderful act of dedicating the grounds for the benefit of this and future generations."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Friday 18 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 8 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North
