Why I, as a bishop and a scientist, support the Pilgrimage to Paris
The Bishop of Dudley, in the diocese of Worcester, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, is a member of the Church of England’s Environment Working Group. Here he explains why he is supporting the pilgramage to Paris ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
As an ecologist - I studied Ecological Science at university - I take an interest in the evidence about climate change. Overwhelmingly it shows that we are seeing major climatic effects from increased carbon in the atmosphere and these effects will increase unless something major is done. Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si wrote, ‘A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system’. I hope that his important contribution to the current debate will make more people wake up.
Many have already. They see daily the devastating effects of climate change in terms of increased sea levels, major weather events, flooding and drought. A defence strategist told me recently about the impact that climate change is having, and he predicted will increasingly have, in fostering future wars and world tensions. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, picked this up as a theme in his speech during the debate about the environment at the General Synod in July, saying, ‘Climate change is both a driver of conflict and a victim of conflict’. No wonder the military are taking it seriously.
ICC (International Church of Copenhagen) joined with St Alban's Church and members of other Green Churches in the National Council of Churches in Denmark to pray for the protection of God's creation and to become more conscious of our role in its stewardship.
About 40 people participated in the climate justice pilgrimage on Kalvebod Fælled on Saturday 13 September. At the onset, a light rain sprinkled on the participants, but as we walked on, the sun and the wind accompanied us on a walk through grass areas, up on a little 'bump', where prayers were said to the four corners. Onwards through through forest and a field of cows, the participants walked and ended the 'walk and worship' in the large wooden playground ship by Naturcenter Vestamager. Throughout the walk, reflections and prayers were offered to center us on the beauty of nature and our connectedness to it. Also the reality of climate change and our responsibility for taking better care of the earth was part of the reflections.
The pilgrimage was a part of the Danish climate justice pilgrimage campaign (klimapilgrim.dk) and one of many walks beginning in Svalbard in the way north of Norway, down through Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The walks continue in the coming weeks through Germany and are headed towards Paris, where the UN Climate Summit will meet later this year to negotiate a new climate agreement. On all of these walks, a bottle of water has been carried and each place has filled a little water into the bottle. The bottle accompanied us on the walk and the participants ended the walk by sprinkling the water gathered from the many walks on each other as a blessing for taking better care of the earth.
The pilgrimage supported the Act Now for Climate Justice Campaign. To support the campaign for a just climate agreement, sign on to the petition here: actclimate.org
Anglican Church of Tanzania want to prepare for severe food shortages
The General Secretary of Anglican Church of Tanzania shared his concern that parts of Tanzania have a food crisis looming, when he recently visited the Anglican Alliance office. He is eager that the Church should prepare for upcoming food shortages now.
The rains earlier this year came late and were not sufficient so people in central areas of Tanzania are already struggling to get enough food, three months earlier than the usual lean season. The Revd Canon Capt. Johnson Chinyong'ole is looking to get support to buy food stocks now from the highlands in the south of the country, where crops are being harvested, to store for later in the year. These stores will be used to provide targeted relief to those in direst need at the height of the looming crisis.
Canon Johnson would also like to set up seed banks, to ensure that poor smallholder farmers will have seed to plant when the rains come in December. Farmers harvested so little last year that they have no seed left to sow and no income to buy seed, let alone improved (drought resistant) seed.
As an example, Canon Johnson shared information from Dodoma, a region with 2.2 million people in Central Tanzania. Normally the region is self-sufficient in staple crops, though not in legumes. Generally smallholder farmers use income from the sale of crops like sunflower and sesame and animals to buy the foods they are short of, such as legumes. In this way they overcome household food deficit from their fields. Currently Dodoma region is experiencing food insecurity caused by acute drought which affected about 70% of land cultivated for food and cash crops. Canon Johnson reports that the price of maize has tripled in some places.
Photo Credit: Anne Wangalachi/CIMMYT. Tanzanian farmer with drought-affected maize in 2014
The Diocese of Cape Town in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa has launched its stewardship campaign with the message that stewardship is “not just about giving money – it’s about giving everything.”
And when they say “everything” they mean “everything” – the eight-week campaign includes a focus on the stewardship of “trash.”
“In the beginning of this series, we came to understand biblical stewardship as a whole life issue,” the stewardship handbook says. “We’ve discussed being good stewards of our talents, time, testimonies, treasures, and togetherness. Finally we come to the topic that we don’t often think about – being good stewards of creation.
“What does it mean to be a caretaker of creation? How important is it for a Christian to be concerned about the environment?”
It continues: “Christians have the responsibility of caring for creation, of keeping an ecological balance. We have the privilege of using the earth, yet not exploiting it. Some ways people have abused creation would be the polluting of rivers, oceans, and air, and misusing creation for greed and profit. Some simpler more personal ways might be littering, dumping toxic materials, and refusing to recycle.
“Although Christians are not under the letter of the Old Testament law, the principle remains that we are to maintain a balance between using the earth and abusing it. We have an obligation not to overuse the earth’s resources for ourselves, and not take more than we need.”
In its introductory session, the handbook contains an explanation for its wide-ranging view of stewardship. “For many Christians, the word ‘stewardship’ is synonymous with ‘giving money.’
“If the priest or minister is preaching on stewardship, the general fund must be running in the red. But the Bible paints a much broader picture of stewardship. The biblical view of stewardship applies to every Christian and every area of life.”
North India church urges determined commitment to protecting all of creation
Mr Alwan Masih, General Secretary of the Church of North India (United), has issued the following message on the environment and care for creation.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It was an honor for me to join in observing the World Environment Day on 5th June 2015 by planting a sapling in the premises of the [Church of North India (United) offices] CNI Bhavan which was more of a symbolic act to increase green cover on earth which may lead to protect nature and the planet earth from the perilous climate changes that are deteriorating the environment gradually causing adverse effects on all living beings.
The unanticipated rise in the temperature of the day hovering above 45 degree Celsius during this summer in the capital city of Delhi, while exceeding 47 degrees in certain other parts of India, gave yet another indication that not just Delhi, but the entire country is facing a major climate change. Also, the similar increase in the temperatures across the globe are causing the planet to heat up tremendously, which in turn is affecting almost everything from collapsing of coral reef ecosystems below the sea to melting of glaciers at the top of the mountains….all these are drastic signs of climate change.
This year’s theme “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care” by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) comes from the fact that we are extracting more resources to produce goods and services than our planet can actually replenish. It highlights our responsibility to protect and care for the nature-God’s most magnificent and awe-inspiring gift to mankind. It is a high time for all of us to initiate appropriate initiatives towards sustaining a ‘greener, healthier and brighter’ tomorrow.
Pope Francis’ first encyclical is focused on the idea of ‘integral ecology’, connecting care of the natural world with justice for the poorest and most vulnerable people. Pope Francis, in his address to “every person living on this planet”, has made it clear that he hopes the encyclical will influence energy and economic policy and stir a global movement. It’s a stinging indictment of “developed, industrialized countries”, who, the Pope says, are “responsible for unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequence for all of us”. The encyclical is a sweeping call to developed countries to take “swift corrective action and help poorer nations confront the crisis”.
Land for Life supports indigenous communities in the wake of deforestation in Northern Argentina
Land for Life is a Christian initiative supporting rural families and indigenous communities in the Argentine Chaco in their struggle to protect their local environments from the devastating effects of deforestation. Visit their facebook page for images and stories of faith, sustainability and courage. https://www.facebook.com/groups/land4life/
This Changes Everything film now screening globally
What if confronting the climate crisis is the best chance we’ll ever get to build a better world?
Filmed over 211 shoot days in nine countries and five continents over four years, This Changes Everything is an epic attempt to re-imagine the vast challenge of climate change.
Directed by Avi Lewis, and inspired by Naomi Klein’s international non-fiction bestseller This Changes Everything, the film presents seven powerful portraits of communities on the front lines, from Montana’s Powder River Basin to the Alberta Tar Sands, from the coast of South India to Beijing and beyond.
Interwoven with these stories of struggle is Klein’s narration, connecting the carbon in the air with the economic system that put it there. Throughout the film, Klein builds to her most controversial and exciting idea: that we can seize the existential crisis of climate change to transform our failed economic system into something radically better.
