Christian environmental charity Operation Noah is holding its first ever 'Oil Fast' on Sunday.

It is inviting church communities to hold off from using oil throughout the day as part of its “Exodus from carbon”.

The Oil Fast is being held in response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, which Operation Noah said had made the world more aware of the wider costs of its dependence on oil.

The concept for the Oil Fast is rooted in the Christian belief that prayer and fasting can bring healing to even the most desperate of situations.

The group wants Christians to "take stock of our joint and personal complicity in the ongoing drive to exploit ever more challenging and inaccessible oil reserves".

Churches are being encouraged to use the day to mark the start of their own journey away from dependence on carbon towards the "promised land of a Zero Carbon Britain" by 2030.

Rev Chris Brice, Chair of Operation Noah, is looking to Christians to make the same positive difference in caring for the planet as they did with recent campaigns to end poverty and change the way the global economy functions.

He said: “The BP disaster revealed the complicity of all, including Christians, in the desecration of the planet.

"Operation Noah’s ‘Carbon Exodus’ and Oil Fast will help Christians abstain from oil, and bring faith, life and practice to bear directly on the urgent task of avoiding catastrophic climate change."

Churches across the UK are expected to hold Oil Fast services on Sunday to encourage people to take action and make changes to their own lifestyles.

Resources for the day include sample sermons, prayers, hymns and a comprehensive guide explaining the science.

On the web: www.operationnoah.org