The Church & Climate Change

by | Mar 15, 2008 | Social Justice

Friday night kicked off the liveit! conference with a panel addressing the issue of “The Church & Climate Change”. Mary Colwell, a producer with BBC Natural History, gave a presentation before moving into a comments/Q&A time with the panel, featuring Christine Allen, Mike Edwards, Tom Cullinan and Bishop John Arnold.

Colwell made an excellent point by showing a picture of a British beach flooded with tourists and contrasting it with a view of the ocean marred by pollution, commenting that this is how much we love the ocean – we flock to it in good weather, yet somehow still find it acceptable to use it as a rubbish dump. How did we create such a huge disconnect between those two views?!
She commented on the need to be a people of strong vision, and how we still value and respond to strong leadership from our church communities, using the example of the Dali Lama making a plea for people to stop wearing fur. He simply stated that he would be ashamed of it – and the people listened to him. What would it take for our leaders to regain the amount of trust it takes for people to act simply on their recommendation? Would I change my lifestyle if my pastor told me he was ashamed of it? (I hope so, but I couldn’t say for sure…)
Colwell made good use of video clips, and in one Rowan Williams made an excellent comment… “Religious communities ought to see themselves as trustees of these kinds of questions.” I thought it was a very positive way to look at these issues, which so many portray in a negative manner.

One that note, the standout thought for me from the entire weekend is a comment made by Mike Edwards in a video…

“The message about climate change has almost completely been negative so far. But actually, I think its the most creative time in history, because we have the opportunity to shape our future.”

There were also some excellent thoughts coming out of the panel session, discussing a need to reclaim our wonder, and to embrace not only celebration but depression; our role in salvation in the world and how it wont look like we expect it to; and empowering ourselves to act regardless of leadership (or lack of) from the religious community.

Many more thoughts to follow, it’s been a very intense day-and-a-half.

Christian Peace Witness (Pt 2)

by | Mar 7, 2008 | Social Justice, Travel

This is the view of my table at Caribou where I am grabbing a coffee and jotting down some thoughts on todays Christian Peace Witness events. I attended the ’emergent worship service’ at New York Avenue Presbyterian, a church famous for being where Abraham Lincoln’s church, and in a similar vein as today, the church where Martin Luther King, Jr., preached against the Vietnam war.

The Cobalt Season played a few opening songs as people were arriving, leading into a time of worshipful reflection through video, liturgy, music and readings overlayed with one another. Gilda Carbonaro spoke about the loss of her son Alex in Iraq in May 2006. Brian McLaren shared a few words of focus regarding Jesus call to us to be disciples, apostles, and witnesses all at once, stating that ‘disciple’ and ‘apostle’ are two sides of the one coin – we are called in to learn the Way of Jesus and then we are sent out to share that with others. In closing, we shared communion, and a piece of final liturgy I thought was so powerful I wanted to type it up here…

One: And now let us walk together, to join our brothers and sisters to appeal for peace, humbly echoing Jesus’ call:

All: “Follow me.”

One: Let us walk, bearing the weight of our complicity in this war, openly confessing:

All: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

One: Let us walk with the weight of sorrow, mindful of the many thousand who have died, and of those who will carry the wounds of war for all their days, trusting Jesus’ promise:

All: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

One: Let us walk in peace, to love and serve God, rejoicing in the reconciling power of the Holy Spirit.

All: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

One: Let us walk with hope, led by faith, ever certain that the Spirit goes before us.

All: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Amen.

charity:water

by | Dec 3, 2007 | Africa, Social Justice

Right now more than 1.1 billion people in the world, mostly in developing nations, do not have access to safe water.

charity:water london just launched their first water campaign…

The £10 bottles of water will be selling in selected TopShop stores with 100% of the proceeds going towards building wells in central Africa. Please consider helping them out… these guys do great stuff.