Mission Earth : A Christian Response To Climate Change York Minster and York St John University 21 st April Report

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1 Our Intent The aims of the Mission Earth event were to; a) create an impact that would reassure and inspire people into action and b) leave a legacy of the attitudes to global warming in the Christian churches based in the north of England. To date there have been three aspects to our programme: 1) The Christian Census on Climate Change The questionnaire comprised of 12 questions set to gauge peoples opinions on various aspects of climate change. The census ran from November 2011 to March 2012 and had over 700 respondents from different denominations from across the U.K. The census proved to be controversial both in the questions it was asking and the answers that were received. Some respondents praised its bravery, due to the fact it posed uncomfortable but relevant questions. Averaged responses to some of the questions asked are as follows: The summer Arctic ice would be gone within 20 years. There is a 7 out of 10 chance that the next 5 years are critical to keep warming to less than 3 C. A third of the world s population (3 billion people) will have to move when temperatures rise by 3 C. Only half of the world s population ( 4.5 billion people) will survive if temperatures rise by 5 C There was a 7 out of 10 chance that global warming was about to inflict a dreadful death toll on vulnerable nations. A quarter of respondents thought that Christians have little involvement with issues of climate change and global warming, while a quarter thought there should be complete commitment. There were flaws however to the census. The majority of people who completed it were already interested in environmental and sustainability issues, therefore responses probably had an automatic bias to humanity being responsible for the damage and the need for more involvement from both churches and politicians. It also asked for opinions rather than fact, which left some respondents feeling confused as to how the results could be used. This said, one of the prime motives of the census was to stimulate discussion from a moral and theological perspective, which it achieved successfully and received exposure from Christian publications and networks, including; The Catholic 1

2 Voice and The Christian Ecology Link, Independent Catholic News and Eco- Congregations websites. The Christian Census on Climate Change provided a valuable pre-curser to the Mission Earth Event in York. 2) Morning in York Minster The service in the Minster was attended by over 300 people and spilt into 2 parts. The first part was an ecumenical liturgy with a deeply environmental theme, focusing our attention on our responsibility to the Earth. The service was led by the Rt Rev. Terrence Drainey, (Bishop of Middlesbrough) The Reverend Stephen Burgess (Chair of the York Hull Methodists), Dr John Sentamu (Archbishop of York), Anne Murison (member of the York United Reform Church), the Rev John Claydon (Regional Minister, Northern Baptist Association), and 2 students from the Mount and Bootham Quaker schools in York. Bishop Drainey in his introduction, referred to a reticence on the part of the church for Christianity and Science to mix. However, he said that this needed to change and in the context of climate change there needed to be more cross over and discussion. In his Address, Archbishop Sentamu made the following key points: God brings order out of chaos. He is still in charge, in spite of our shame, our travesties and our pollution of planet earth. There will be a new heaven and new earth so our job is not to seek to preserve but be part of that creation of a new heaven and new earth. We must never look down to test the ground before taking the next step. Never measure the height of a mountain before we reach the top. Then we will see how low it was. For Christians, the best way of dealing with climate change is to; infect the world with God s goodness. The world is charged with God s grandeur..may God give us the eyes to see it. The Archbishop appeared to issue contradictions, on one hand saying; seek not to preserve which countered everything we were trying to achieve by the event, while also stating; we must not abuse what does not belong to us, thus presenting what some of the congregation felt was a confused message. In the second part of the Minster service, speakers from leading Christian developmental and scientific organisations; The John Ray Initiative, Tearfund and 2

3 Operation Noah, spoke on the nature of climate change, the problems it is causing and who it is affecting, followed by what action we can take. Ruth Jarman, director of Operation Noah, an ecumenical organisation, working for the decarbonisation of the British economy by 2030, stated; We know from the Psalms that God has made us ruler over the works of his hands, that he has put everything under our feet. And what have we learnt this morning? That we are trampling it all with abandon! The solution to climate change is dead simple we know exactly what we need to do we need to leave fossil fuels in the ground. But we re not. The church must give voice to climate scientists, who are the prophets of our day, speaking uncomfortable truths to our generation. The church is embedded in an economic system that is destroying what God has made. Operation Noah has launched the Ash Wednesday Declaration calling on the church to repent and act on climate change. Ben Niblett, Campaign Director for Tearfund, a charity that works through local churches across the world to overcome poverty and injustice, made the following points: We campaign about climate change because the churches we work with tell us it s damaging the communities they serve people for who life isn t easy already. There are more floods. There are more droughts. Rainfall is less reliable, so it s getting harder to make a living from farming. So if you remember nothing else I say from this morning, remember this climate change is happening now, and it s hitting poor people the hardest. Martin Hodson, Operations Manager from The John Ray Initiative, an organisation that brings together science, environment and Christianity, explained clearly and simply the science of climate change and warned that it is a massive problem but not an impossible one to deal with, provided that we all act together and quickly. The following comments have been extracted from delegates evaluation forms completed on the day. The opinions on the morning s programme were very positive, so the following comments reflect this: I really enjoyed joining with Christians from many denominations in York Minster to worship together 3

4 The Minster service was inspiring, excellent and relevant A very thoughtful and humble service, a good start to the day 3) Afternoon of workshops at York St John University The afternoon session was attended by 120 delegates and began with a complimentary buffet lunch in the foyer of the De Grey Court Building of York St John University. The event organisers invited environmental charities and groups to have displays and stalls in the foyer, with reading materials for people to take away and details of practical action that can be taken by churches and communities. These included Medoria Solar - a Christian solar panel installation company, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust s Living Churchyard Project, the Christian Ecology Link s Eco Cell Programme, Progressio a Catholic sustainable development organisation and Easingwold Church, who had initiated a food waste collection project as part of the Diocese of York s Year of the Environment Following the plenary, which included a report of the census results by its creator Robert Thorniley-Walker and a talk by Isabel Carter (Chair of Operation Noah) entitled; A Call To The Church: Responding With Hope And Urgency, delegates participated in 2 workshop rounds, choosing one workshop in each round out of a possible 7. Workshops were led by lead representatives from the following organisations: Operation Noah, Christian Aid, Quaker Living Witness, CAFOD, The John Ray Initiative, Eco-Congregations, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Tearfund. Topics were varied, covering issues such as; impacts of climate change at home and abroad, how to deal with scepticism, examining our fear in relation to taking action and ways to involve congregations and communities in practical action. Because this was the first event of its kind to be organised by the Ecumenical Working Party (Diocese of Middlesbrough), it was essential to make sure the afternoon programme incorporated a mixture of the theological and the scientific. The majority of people who completed the event evaluation forms gave the event a 4 out of 5 rating, however those that marked lower were critical of the lack of climate science present in the afternoon programme. This is something that the group will incorporate when planning future events, as it is this knowledge that has the capacity to empower lone voices in a church congregation or community, allowing people to introduce actions and ideas supported by scientific fact. Comments from 2 evaluation forms explain it in the following way; Not enough science, quantification, too much on the hope despair crisis. Technologies cannot be avoided, even by Christians Stop going over old ground. Need new methods and new ideas as to presenting arguments 4

5 For the majority of people who attended, it was an exploratory mission to learn more about climate change, meet people, be inspired and to realise and feel comforted by the network of people actively involved in this area. From this viewpoint, the event was successful and invited the following comments: I return to my church/community better informed about this issue and the Christian response to it and about what we as a church need to do about it, or at least the importance to try I have been educated, enlightened and stimulated (The event) enabled me to discover the range of agencies and groups working in this field and gave me courage to voice and raise climate change with others Excellent structure with professional input also giving opportunities for participant interchange It was a positive day and good for those of us who are suffering from the luxury of despair to quote the Welsh poet at the impossibility of the task. With God all things are possible Excellent from start to finish An insightful day as we came together to grieve the situation the world finds itself in and fellowship with others and prayer in asking God for wisdom on how to tackle the challenges of a changing climate What next? In order to build on the success of this event and to try and capitalise on the wave of enthusiasm it generated, the Working Group is now looking to work with the Middlesbrough Diocese on developing an environmental action plan, that will cover areas such as energy procurement, producing action packs for churches and working with regional and national organisations to support campaigns on environment and climate change. The second step is to hold a follow up event for those participants who expressed specific interest to remain involved with the work of the group. This event would include talks on climate science and both emerging and existing technologies that are being used to combat it, as well as developing the practical action approach with communities. Below are some suggestions on future activities from delegates at the Mission Earth event: Explore how to help local people understand we are all connected to a global community and that what we do locally does matter globally! Simple study programmes to attract people in the pew. Good introduction to and exploration of the science of climate change More on what personal contributions we could make to limiting climate change 5

6 How to lobby for change information on no growth development Practical examples of good practice that can be taken up by individuals and communities alike The third step and long range view will be for us to get involved with the multi faith response to climate change. One of the strengths of our Mission Earth event was its ecumenism and this was appreciated and commented on by delegates. Becoming involved with multi faith groups that are already working in the area of climate change is to recognise that religions coming together form a powerful lobby to instigate both political and community action. For more information on the Mission Earth event, to read reports from people who attended and to download some of the presentations, please visit; Emma Casson Administrator Mission Earth T: cconclimatechange@gmail.com 6