Three Counties Liberal Jewish Community (3CLJC) was presented with an EcoJudaism Award during a special eco-themed Shabbat service.

3CLJC received EcoJudaism Silver Status earlier this year, in recognition of the community’s work towards an environmentally responsible future.

A certificate was presented by Dr Simon Opher, the Labour MP for Stroud and Chair of the All Parliamentary Net Zero Group.

A spokesperson for the community said: “If we wish to live in a way which respects the natural needs of the planet, we need to look at our actions and behaviour as a Jewish community, as individuals in our own home, and in relation to the wider world.

“Our Three Counties Liberal Jewish Community is proud to have achieved Silver Status in the EcoJudaism programme, but mindful of the challenges our particular community faces. We are a geographically dispersed community spread across three of the country’s most rural counties, without a synagogue or other premises of our own.

“Our engagement with the EcoJudaism project reflects the values and context of our community – we know we have much more to do, and for us the Silver award is as much a promise as an achievement.”

Among the achievements 3CLJC completed in 2024 were becoming a paperless organisation; moving towards a more vegetarian/vegan diet that uses local produce; providing regular eco-tips in fortnightly bulletins and a quarterly newsletter; and having Bar/Bat Mitzvah pupils engage in an eco-themed project.

Other Liberal and Reform communities to win EcoJudaism Awards this year include Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue (Gold), Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue (Silver), Liverpool Reform Synagogue (Bronze), Maidenhead Synagogue (Silver) and Southgate Progressive Synagogue (Bronze).

• Picture: Rabbi Anna Gerrard, Dr Simon Opher MP and 3CLJC eco team members Julian Brown and Martin Gregg.