Four people charged with aggravated trespass in relation to a protest by activist group Christian Climate Action (CCA) have pleaded not guilty at Bath Magistrates’ Court.
The 4 individuals are Bill White, 71, a retired Church of England vicar, Stephen Pritchard, 66, a former parish councillor, Emma Ireland, 41, a mental medical expert and Kate Chesterman, 60, a retired university employee.
The case centres around an incident at Bath Abbey on 13 September, through which the 4 staged a banner drop and conducted a sit on the roof of the bell tower. The banner read “Don’t Crucify Creation” and its unfurling marked the start of what CCA said was a campaign demanding “radical and urgent motion” from the Church of England on climate change.
Earlier this week the Bishop of Bath meet with members of CCA to listen to their concerns.
The Rev White appeared in court via video link, while the opposite protesters attended in person. As the hearing took place around 30 people held a prayer vigil outside in support of those charged.
During the hearing Pritchard, said, “I would like to be judged by the morality of my actions, not by the legality of my actions.”
After the hearing Rev White said, “It is just not in the general public interest to prosecute the reality tellers, the prophets of our time. The Church is falling to inform the reality about climate breakdown and its impact on all of us. The Abbey was more interested by keeping its tours running than in being a spot of worship and in hearing our message.”
A case management hearing is because of happen on 14 January.
The issue of climate change and Net Zero has caused some division throughout the Church of England.
Last 12 months the Church announced it could be setting aside £190 million over “several triennia” [three-year periods] towards reaching its Net Zero targets.
However, some have criticised the Church’s move towards Net Zero, noting that many parishes struggle to afford greener heating systems, which combined with excessive bureaucracy means many older parishes are left without heating for long periods or just break church rules with the intention to keep parishioners, particularly those that are elderly, warm.
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