THE natural world is being “crucified”, and the Church of England ought to be doing more to assist, a recent document published on Monday by Christian Climate Action (CCA) argues.
The document, Stop Crucifying Creation, has been sent to lots of of individuals within the Church, including bishops, deans, archdeacons, and individuals in environment co-ordination posts. It acknowledges that the Church of England has “many unseen climate and nature champions” who’re “working tirelessly” to mitigate the results of the climate crisis.
Church leaders are praised for his or her advocacy, but exhorted to go further. “Our Church must follow the instance of Jesus by taking radical nonviolent motion on this existential emergency,” the document says.
It calls on the Church to “publicly rebuke and boycott businesses” which can be involved within the fossil-fuel industry, including banks that work with oil firms.
CCA was founded in 2012 and grew in prominence through its association with the Extinction Rebellion movement, which began in 2018. It has previously staged vigils that decision for cathedrals and dioceses to sever financial ties with the fossil-fuel industry (News, 21 February).
The document, which is published on the CCA website, also calls on the Church to take further motion to scale back its impact on the climate, including in its extensive land holdings. In February of last yr, the General Synod passed a motion encouraging the introduction of greater biodiversity on church land.
In June, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, the lead bishop for the environment, described the Church Commissioners’ Net Zero Carbon Programme as one among the “fundamental points of our Christian mission” (News, 13 June).
A spokesperson for CCA on Monday urged “everyone within the Church of England to read this vision document which outlines the transformation needed inside our national church to fulfill the big challenges attributable to this existential threat. . . We are calling on the church to return to its roots and step up further to the challenge of tackling probably the most urgent issue creation faces: climate breakdown.”
A “National Day of Climate Prayer for our Church” is being organised for 14 September, with groups meeting at greater than a dozen cathedrals. The gatherings are scheduled shortly before services; but they usually are not planned to cause disruption, a spokesman said. Rather, the vigils are intended as a probability for supporters of CCA to fulfill, pray, and talk with clergy and visitors to the cathedral, with the choice of joining the service afterwards.
A full list of the arranged vigils could be found on the CCA website.
The document could be read at: bit.ly/ourcalltothechurch
