ST ALBANS CATHEDRAL called within the police on Sunday to take care of protestors from Christian Climate Action, who were holding a prayer vigil urging the cathedral to stop its banking arrangements with Barclays Bank.
The cathedral was celebrating Alban Day, an annual festival for its patron saint, with a vibrant procession through town. Members of Christian Climate Action were grouped outside the west front, holding a banner that called for the cathedral to pursue a more ethical banking policy. Barclays has extensive ties to the fossil-fuels industry in Europe.
The police departed the scene soon after determining that no criminal act was happening. Security staff on the cathedral attempted to dam the group’s banner with their bodies for some time.
Nigel Harvey, from St Albans, was one in every of the protestors. “This was an obvious over-reaction by St Albans Cathedral,” he said. “We all know that the climate crisis is a big threat to humanity. And yet, as an alternative of welcoming and inspiring input on changes that will be made, the cathedral sought to shut down our small, respectful protest. The Christian response could be to interact, consider, and act. The best way the cathedral can now make amends is to urgently review their banking arrangements.”
A report published last week, Banking on Climate Chaos, which tracks bank funding of coal, oil, and gas projects, shows that Barclays increased its fossil-fuel financing from 2023 to 2024. Research for the study, led by the Rainforest Action Network, found the bank to have funnelled $98.9 billion into fossil fuels between 2021 and 2024. Over the last two years, organisations including the Greenbelt Festival, Christian Aid, and Oxfam, and Chelmsford, Derby, Durham, Sheffield, Southwark, Truro, and Worcester cathedrals, have all agreed to chop ties with banks that fund fossil fuels (News, 9 May).
St Albans Cathedral is currently reviewing its policies and procedures to be sure that it aligns with their “values”, a spokesperson said.
“St Albans Cathedral takes climate change and environmental stewardship seriously, as a part of our Christian calling to take care of God’s creation. We recognise the urgency of the climate crisis and have already taken meaningful steps to scale back our environmental impact, including making a recent post for a Sustainability Project Manager to support our work towards the Church of England’s ambition to succeed in net zero by 2030. We have also recently applied for the A Rocha Gold Eco Church Award.”
The vigil comes 4 days after other members of Christian Climate Action unfurled a banner during a gathering of the Church Commissioners being held in Bristol Cathedral. They were urging each the Commissioners, which bank with Lloyds, and the Cathedral, who banks with NatWest, to make the switch. Both banks provide significant finance to the fossil-fuel industry.
The Canon Missioner of Bristol Cathedral, Canon Jonnie Parkin, said: “Bristol Cathedral is committed to climate justice. We take our role on this integral a part of God’s mission seriously, promoting biodiversity on the cathedral estate, taking steps to scale back our carbon emissions and inspiring all those involved within the lifetime of the cathedral to work to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation. As a part of this we’re reviewing our banking arrangements.
“We currently bank with NatWest, but that is under lively review by our finance committee. We would hope to find a way to maneuver to a bank that aligns with our values over the following 12 months.”
Joe Ware is senior climate journalist at Christian Aid.
