A reflection from our diocesan Net Zero Officer, Chris Lynch:

As I write this, today is very much a day of reflection for myself and Zélie Peppiette who have just returned from Connect 2026, the Church of England's focal conference for its environmental and net zero carbon mission and programmes of work. The conference was opened by an address from Archbishop Sarah Mullally who unfortunately couldn't be there in person due to more pressing matters that had come up... something to do with an Installation at Canterbury Cathedral! The serious point though is the fact that the now Archbishop of Canterbury's involvement, reflects just how key this whole area is seen by the Church including by the Archbishop in person.

This was the third conference. The previous two had very much been focused around the work in laying the foundations, establishing the programmes of work through funding, getting resources in place, data gathering, and commencing the delivery through audits and grant funding. This conference was different, in this transformational year, Connect 2026 was all about looking forward and how the Church of England was going to answer it's 5 Marks of Mission, and particularly the fifth one by achieving the goal of being Net Zero Carbon by 2030 and then building on that beyond.

There were some great key note speakers from the likes of Friends of the Earth and the Matt MacDonald institute, but it was in the breakout sessions, the new "Open Door" format sessions, and the networking that goes on that the real work was done. It was through those that Zélie and myself were able to have face to face sessions with the National Programme to resolve issues for our Diocese, forge new relationships that will be key in the future, not to mention establishing new friendships and building on existing ones. These all count when you are working on a complex programme like this.

The conference was described as being "Epic" this year. It certainly was and Zelie and I look forward to sharing more detail from Connect 2026 with you when the material becomes available.

Chris Lynch - Net Zero Carbon Officer and Zélie Peppiette - Diocesan Advisor for Creation Care