Act or Die: Christians and the Climate Crisis:
The Responsibilities of Christians in these Times
“We have to act quickly. What we do, I believe, in the next 3-4 years will determine the future of humanity.” Sir David King, former chief scientific advisor to the Blair and Brown administrations (February 2021)
“If governments are serious about the climate crisis, there can be no new investments in oil, gas and coal, from now – from this year.” Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (May 2021)
The penny has dropped – COP26 has failed and no one is coming to save us. Christians around the world are finally realising this climate crisis is about God’s creation, it’s about brutal economic collapse and it’s about mass death on an unprecedented scale – in the next twenty years. The failure to act decisively by the Government, multinationals and banks amounts to a decision to inflict indescribable suffering on billions of the poorest people on this planet by refusing to cut carbon emissions sufficiently. There is no greater crime, no greater transgression of Christian ethics – or any ethics. We cannot be bystanders – our faith does not allow us to be.
Christian Climate Action Bristol have arranged two meetings to discuss the urgent situation we are facing and to ponder together what we can do about it beyond the steps we are no doubt already taking to address this crisis. The meetings (the second being a repeat of the first, to allow a choice of dates) details below:
They will include an update on the current climate science from Professor Colin Davis B.Sc (Hons), Ph.D (UNSW); plus personal testimonies from Revd Sue Parfitt, Dr Ruth Jarman and Val King, regarding the connection with their faith. There will also be time for group discussion about what we might be able to commit to doing.
In addition there will be a zoom meeting for Christians across the UK, given by Dr. Larch Maxey, a leading climate crisis speaker, and activists Revd Sue Parfitt and Revd Mark Coleman. This will take place at 3.00 pm – 4.30 pm on Sunday 27th February.
Zoom event details below:
Over the next few months, thousands of people – students, trade unionists, members of the churches and people from all walks of life are preparing to do whatever it takes, non-violently, to prevent the Government from extracting from the ground more oil and other fossil fuels.
There will be sustained action in March and April demanding that the Government initiates a rapid transition to renewables. It is unthinkable that the poor would be left to suffer and die from the Government’s failure to act.
We are asking that you advertise these talks to your church community in your news sheet and in the notices on Sunday. Please share the all-important dates of these meetings with other Christians. Similar invitations are being sent to Christian communities up and down the country. It’s time for us to accept that faith demands action. When faced with undeniable outright evil we know what to do: we must stand up together in prayerful non-violent resistance.
This is what people will be doing as part of Just Stop Oil, the new networked campaign bringing together many groups for mass civil disobedience this spring. In these meetings, we will discuss how the churches can be part of this Campaign.
Please share this information widely.
Yours in love and hope,
Dave Mitchell, on behalf of Christian Climate Action Bristol
Posted: February 2022