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The focus on Paris sharpens

Anglicans and Environment
prepared by Canon Ken Gray, Anglican Church of Canada, for the Anglican Communion Environmental Network

London to Paris pilgrimage to hand in climate change petition

Schools, churches and individuals are being encouraged to show their support for a 200-mile pilgrimage from London to Paris aimed at encouraging world leaders to agree a fair, ambitious and binding deal at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

The Church of England is launching the pilgrimage to Paris with an invitation to participate by walking some or all of the route, or by cheering on pilgrims as they pass by schools or other local centres, or by holding ‘mini-pilgrimages’ in local communities and prayer vigils for the success of the talks.

The pilgrimage will begin at St Martin-in-the-Fields in central London on 13 November and finish in the French capital on 27 November, as negotiators from more than 190 nations gather for the start of the talks.

The pilgrims will hand in campaign petitions to Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on November 28 before joining an interfaith gathering and a mass mobilization in Paris.

Full article with links at http://www.london.anglican.org/articles/london-to-paris-pilgrimage-to-hand-in-climate-change-petition/?utm_content=buffer004ad&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Prayer at and for Paris

With the Paris Climate talks only days away many persons and organizations are announcing their programme and intentions. Indeed, there are so many options available for Paris Pilgrims it has become quite confusing.

The notes below from Maranda St John Nicolle of the Church of England may provide direction for prayers leading up to the conference and through it. Such prayer is essential and timely as we move forward in faith. A number of different Christian organisations are coming together to show unity in prayer, as we lay our concerns and hopes before God. You and the churches in your area may find some of their offerings helpful.

In the run-up to the talks, it will be possible to follow the prayers and reflections being used from 13 November to 28 November on the Pilgrimage to Paris. The materials will be posted on their website.
During the talks, the Global Catholic Climate Movement, Anglican Communion Environmental Network, Tearfund and global partners, Pray and Fast for the Climate, Climate Prayer, members of the Faith for the Climate network, and possibly others will be sharing in three areas:
- for those who tweet, the organisations involved will be tweeting prayers and prayer requests using the hashtag #Pray4COP21 and encouraging others to RT or to tweet their own prayers using that hashtag
- here will be two "spaces" online where people can sign up to pray for an hour during the talk. One of these is provided by the Global Catholic Climate Movement and one is a 24/7 prayer room. The latter is just going live today; while the other elements of the cooperative effort aren't yet public, the prayer spaces are.
- the organisations involved will be pooling prayers and sending a daily email with updates and prayers - this will certainly go out to all organisations for use in their communications and may also be something people can access directly.

The Anglican Communion has offered two prayers that people may wish to use in services - one for climate negotiators, written by former Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and one for Advent Sunday (29 November) by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba.

There is an ecumenical service in Paris on the 3rd of December. The French version of the service outline has gone up, and the English version will go up next week. It's a service rich in symbolism - and would translate well into local contexts.

There are copious numbers of prayer resources available for anyone who wants to put together a liturgy. These include a gathering of readings, reflections and prayers for a prayer vigil before or during Paris; materials created by Citizens for Public Justice in Canada to pray for the talks; as well as a wide assortment of more general climate and environmentally-focused prayer resources.

Why the Paris Climate Summit Will Be a Peace Conference

By Michael T. Klare www.Tomdispatch.com

At the end of November, delegations from nearly 200 countries will convene in Paris for what is billed as the most important climate meeting ever held. Officially known as the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP-21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the 1992 treaty that designated that phenomenon a threat to planetary health and human survival), the Paris summit will be focused on the adoption of measures that would limit global warming to less than catastrophic levels. If it fails, world temperatures in the coming decades are likely to exceed 2 degrees Celsius (3.5 degrees Fahrenheit), the maximum amount most scientists believe the Earth can endure without experiencing irreversible climate shocks, including soaring temperatures and a substantial rise in global sea levels.

While long, the notes are intriguing and comprehensive. Worth a careful read:
http://www.juancole.com/2015/11/climate-conference-averting-resource.html

Refugees and environment discussed by Archbishop of Canterbury and Ecumenical Patriarch

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at an ecumenical prayer vigil for refugees at Lambeth Palace Chapel

[ACNS] The refugee crisis and the environment were amongst issues discussed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew, last week during the extended visit by the leader of the Orthodox family of churches to Lambeth Palace.

During a private meeting, the Archbishop and His All-Holiness discussed issues facing the Anglican and Orthodox churches and the wider world. This included discussing joint Christian efforts for the protection of the environment, and the urgent social and pastoral problems created by the massive migration from the Middle East.

Later, the two church leaders led an ecumenical prayer vigil in the Lambeth Palace Chapel for those fleeing violence, persecution and poverty.

The two leaders led prayers for all people risking their lives fleeing from conflict, violence and persecution, and those whose existence is threatened by climate change.

Both leaders gave a blessing during the service, which featured the Coventry Litany and intercessions led by members of the Community of St Anselm.

Prayers were also said for those under immense pressure to develop an effective and equitable response to the refugee crisis, and for those negotiating at the climate change talks in Paris later this month.

Before the vigil the Patriarch gave a lecture on environmental issues to an audience of faith leaders, scientists and lay church members working on climate change. He spoke of a “crisis of solidarity” being witnessed in our struggle to respond collectively to climate change – as well as the refugee and migrant crisis – and called on Christians to act.

The event also featured contributions from Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, and the Revd Archdeacon Dr John Chryssavgis.

Full ACNS article at http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2015/11/refugees-and-environment-discussed-by-archbishop-of-canterbury-and-ecumenical-patriarch.aspx

Canadian Ottawa-area Anglicans overwhelmingly vote to sell $1M in oil, gas stocks

Ottawa-area Anglicans voted almost unanimously Friday to sell their $1 million worth of oil and gas stocks and push the church’s national body to do the same.

Local Anglican congregations have a combined stock portfolio worth $30 million, which is administered centrally, and although the oil and gas stocks are a relatively small portion, Friday’s vote is seen as a major statement on climate change.Bishop John Chapman supported the decision.

“When a person is being baptized in the Anglican Church, they promise that they ‘will live to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation, and respect, sustain and renew the life of the Earth,’ ” he said. “I think our obligations are quite clear.”

Montreal Anglicans took a similar path two weeks ago, as did the United Church earlier in the summer. The Diocese of Toronto will have a similar conversation in a few days’ time.

Carleton University biology professor and ecologist Lenore Fahrig, who led a small group of church members behind the push to sell the stock, said Friday that other Anglican congregations across Canada had been “very interested” in the Ottawa vote.

“We’re already seeing increasing droughts, floods and hurricanes around the world, with the biggest impacts on the poor,” she said. “It is wrong to maintain a fossil fuel-based economy when we can switch to other energy sources and avoid climate catastrophe.”

After Friday’s successful vote, supporters will turn their attention to the national Anglican synod — the church’s summit of delegates from across Canada — that is scheduled for next summer.

Fahrig had been urging delegates to the annual Ottawa synod to address the “moral and ethical issue” of climate change and, at the same time, send a message to politicians.

Prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau and provincial premiers join other world leaders at the United Nations Climate Change conference in Paris at the end of November and early December.

“We know how it’s affecting nature and we know how it’s affecting people, and we know how to avoid it,” said Fahrig. “It is entirely about profits, about money.”

About 360 delegates, representing 22,000 area Anglican parishioners, are at the two-day synod, which is being held at St. Elias Centre.

Two other related motions — to “de-carbonize all Anglican churches” and develop an education program on climate change for churchgoers — will be put to a vote on Saturday.

Article at Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, Canada at:http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawa-area-anglicans-overwhelmingly-vote-to-sell-1m-in-oil-gas-stocks

Tim Flannery: "The next decade is going to be really tough"
By Geoff Dembicki, 28 Sep 2015, www.TheTyee.ca

Tim Flannery didn't become one of the world's most influential climate thinkers by sugar-coating the truth. "If humans pursue a business-as-usual course for the first half of this century," he warned in his seminal 2006 book The Weather Makers, "I believe the collapse of civilization due to climate change becomes inevitable." But Flannery has always been clear-eyed about the opportunities we have to change our course. "The transition to a carbon-free economy is eminently achievable," he wrote. The only things standing in our way are ignorance and pessimism and confusion.

Flannery has written about those obstacles in outlets like the New York Times and the Guardian. He's convened business leaders at the Copenhagen Climate Council. He's advised energy giants like India's Tata Power. For such efforts he was recently given the Jack P. Blaney Award from Simon Fraser University's (Canada) Centre for Dialogue.

Read the full interview at http://thetyee.ca/Presents/2015/09/28/Tim-Flannery-Tough-Decade/

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