St. Aidan’s Church was the first church in the Diocese of Manchester to be declared an “eco-congregation”.

 Eco-Congregation is an ecumenical programme helping churches make the link    between environmental issues and Christian faith, and respond in practical action in the church, in the lives of individuals, and in the local and global community.  Eco-Congregation developed from a partnership between the Government funded environmental charity ENCAMS (which runs the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign and the Going for Green brand) and the Environmental Issues Network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. It aims to encourage churches to celebrate the gift of God's creation and to care for it in their life and mission and through the member’s personal lifestyle.

 The program comprises a set of modules around four areas: worship and theology; children and young people; managing the church; personal lifestyles and wider church concerns in the community and overseas. Churches first fill in an environmental checklist which helps them select the modules they wish to focus on. They then appoint a team and an organiser to support the work within the church.  After completing the modules, churches may apply for the Eco-Congregation Award. The award is independently assessed. In order to receive an award, churches have to include in their activities a spiritual dimension, a practical dimension, and an activity with a local impact.

 At St. Aidan’s church, the idea began with a Lent Course in 2004, called “The Lord God Made Them All” devised by the then vicar; the Rev. George Dobbs.  The outcome of the course was that the church council agreed to investigate becoming an eco-congregation; begin a monthly Fair Trade stall; increase congregational awareness of ecology issues; involve the children and young people of the church; do an eco-audit of the church and grounds.

 Two members agreed to co-ordinate the project which included activities such as a paper recycling scheme, already in operation for over 20 years,  a Fair Trade stall and church children offering everyone in church a series of “eco-cards”.  Each eco-card gives a monthly practical tip on eco-friendliness.

 The children of the church overtook a Creation Project in the summer of 2005 looking at our care for God’s creation.  This included beginning a wildlife garden and making and erecting bird boxes around the church grounds.  In the summer of 2006, the children worked on a theme inspired by “Operation Noah”, an environmental project devised by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and the Christian Ecology Link.

 St. Aidan’s Church was assessed for the award by Rev. John Hughes representing eco-congregation and Hazel Stubbs of the Rochdale Council Sustainability Team as the independent local assessor.  In their letter accepting St. Aidan’s Church as an eco-congregation, the assessors praise the variety of the work, some of which goes back a long time, and specially commended the work with children and young people.  The church now has the eco-congregation plaque which will be re-applied for in 2008.