Bulletins

Acting for Creation Bulletin #23 - Go local! (23/07/2026)

Acting for Creation Together in Gippsland

Email: acting@gippslandanglicans.org.au

1. Season of Creation Launch

at the Anglican Schools Evensong 23 August at 5pm St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Sale Speaker: Jo Knight, CEO of Anglican Overseas Aid and author of Called to Care – for people and planet

Followed by light refreshments Inquiries: davidp@gippslandanglicans.org.au

2. Invitation to run Called to Care Study Groups

Great resources available (free) Parishes or groups who would like to run a study series on Called to Care: for people and planet can order books (with discounts for 5+ books) and find a wealth of free, downloadable study resources for individuals, groups and churches at https://calledtocare.co/ including a Companion Journal, Action Sheets, videos and more.

ACTinG will also offer three online study sessions, one on each of the three parts of the book. Discussions will be led by different facilitators: Cath Connelly, Dean Spalding, then Jack Beamish. Times and dates: 7.30pm on 1st September, 15th September and 29th September. Please contact acting@gippslandanglicans.org.au for the Zoom link and / or further info.

This month’s bulletin from Ann relates to the ACTinG tab to ‘Go local’ – from our aim to: ‘support and help create a sustainable local economy to meet basic needs’. See https://www.gippslandanglicans.org.au/acting/go-local

Ann writes:

We have long been told to buy locally, but what really are the benefits?

Economic benefits: Spending money in our own communities keeps more of that money in that community. Even multinationals employ local people – so supporting local businesses improves the chances of local people getting jobs. Local businesses often source supplies from other local businesses. Local businesses depend on the goodwill of their customers – that’s us – so that good and often personal service is more likely. (source: Forbes)

Environmental benefits: We are probably all aware of the concept of food miles – that buying food from overseas, say a delicious cheese from France, comes with a bitter aftertaste of increased emissions to get it to us in the transport involved. Buying from markets and road side stalls reduces the embedded transport costs and emissions, and ensures that the food is as fresh as possible. Growing your own is the ultimate goal! Buying locally also has the potential to reduce packaging pollution as we select individual items and put them in our own bags.. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zjnxwnb

Social benefits: Social benefits are perhaps the least obvious. Buying locally produced goods strengthens community in a number of different ways. Since the pandemic people have become less sociable, preferring to keep within their small social circle, and we now have an epidemic of loneliness. Buying locally allows more engagement with the local community in a safe way, and encourages trust. It also helps preserve local culture, heritage and traditions. Growing food in community gardens has been shown to reduce loneliness and foster inclusivity. Our current situation has shown us how vulnerable we are to events half way around the world. Forging strong links in our communities fosters resilience and makes us more able to ride out disruptions to fuel and fertiliser supplies. Being able to feed ourselves is a major step to resilience. https://backyardpantry.com.au/4-reasons-why-supporting-local-businesses/

You may feel that your contribution, say by growing some silver beet and some herbs in your back yard or in a window box is just a drop in the ocean, but the accumulation of all our drops can lead to a mighty wave of change.

If you are hungry for some good news have a look at Fix the News, which details the many good things that are happening in the world. https://fixthenews.com/

Email us: acting@gippslandanglicans.org.au

We would love to hear from you.