Graciously Green

Graciously Green (the thinking!)

I am aware that at times I am a bit of a bull in a china shop. I don't mean to be, and I certainly don't mean to hurt or demean others. The problem is I am passionate. It is the very thing that drives me forward.

One passion that I have felt for as many years as I can remember is a passion to see us care for God's creation more carefully. When we built the beacon, I harboured the dream that we could become a 'Carbon Neutral church.'

I don't think anyone can have watched David Attenborough's recent films and documentaries without feeling appalled at the damage we are doing to God's world. Some might argue that we've always lived off the resources in God's world, and that is of course true. The problem is that we are now doing so in 'industrial' proportions, without corresponding 'industrial' levels of care going into the consequences of our actions. Also rubbish in the past decomposed, plastic doesn’t! The question that I wish to pose over the next few months, especially during our Church Weekend away at Hill House (28-30th June) is whether there is a reasonable even a 'gracious' Christian response?

One of the reasons that I have a passion for this subject is that whilst I was training to be a minister I was privileged to have regular tutorials with the Revd. Dr Arthur Peacocke MBE. He was one of those brain the size of a planet people, he had at least 3 doctorates, in science and theology, and yet he could still sum things up rather simply. I always remember him commenting as the ecological movement was developing in the late 1980's that we as Christians should be far more passionate than others because we believe that creation is a gift that God has given to us all. In effect he would say, how dare we neglect the planet, it isn't ours to neglect, it's a precious gift to be cherished. He was a bright cookie, and was rightly made the President of the Science and Religion Forum from 1995 until his death.

So I'm passionate, but I get that passions put some people of, so I get that we need to be gracious! However the problem with this issue is that it is also a matter of justice. The people that suffer from our wilful neglect and woeful response to the issue of climate change, and indeed plastic pollution, are not the rich and powerful. As always it is the weak and vulnerable who suffer. (This isn't even to mention the devastation that we are inflicting on animal species and the biodiversity of nature itself.) In light of this a Christian response can never be to simply walk by on the other side of the road, and pretend it isn't happening, we are called to 'get of our donkey' and see what we can do.

This of course is where it gets tricky. What can we do? The very nature of society embeds us within its tangled worldview and practices so that we imagine ourselves only as powerless consumers. In effect although we know that stuff is happening, we feel unable to change things. This is of course false. As we've seen from the recent actions by Greta Thunberg and the extinction rebellion movement, we can create movements which makes the powers that be sit up and listen. Small actions change cultures, whether that is in a family, or in our workplaces, or as a whole society. As consumers we can act in ways which make change more likely. I think of the way Tradecraft has effectively helped the whole marketplace to understand its responsibilities to workers and the environment.  We can see increasingly ethical opportunities opening up, which if we choose to follow them will undermine other less enhancing models of working. Of course truly radical change often does require governments to legislate or intervene. But governments respond ultimately to the pressure that we place upon them. If we do nothing, so will they!

So what can you do? Well this is where Mel's now regular articles about plastics have been heading. A plethora of little shifts that we can make. We all make decisions every day, with better information many of us would make different decisions. I'm also aware that joy is a far better motivator than guilt. When we begin to teach on this area our starting place will be to Rejoice. Worship and awe are the richest motivators. The first thing we must do is open our eyes, ears, noses and taste buds, to see and taste the goodness which surrounds us. Only after that place of wonder will we advocate the great Christian discipline of repentance: an acknowledgement that we have missed the mark, and also that we want to take steps to rediscover ways to live in harmony once again. Rejoicing in beauty motivates us. Repentance isn't then about feeling guilty, it is the active acknowledgment that we need to change our ways.

After rejoicing and repentance comes the realisation that new responsible pathways need to be discovered.  We will explore many possible personal responses, I hope offered graciously not as a bull amidst your fragile china! As a whole church I hope we can also make some decisions. Maybe even to consider that we might realise my dream of 'carbon neutrality.' Since we installed solar panels several years ago, some of our energy is already carbon free, but by no means all of it. We have sought to reduce with better insulation, and more complex timers to avoid unnecessary heating. Another step we could take is to consider carbon offsetting. That is to invest some money to 'neutralise' our lifestyles. At its most basic carbon offsetting is about planting trees, but a Christian charity like 'Climate Stewards' also offer us opportunities to invest in other carbon reducing projects. One that I like the sound of is a 'cookstove' project. For the poorest families cooking with firewood is a laborious and often dirty occupation. A new stove will halve the amount of fuel needed, less time wasted collecting fuel and less carbon produced. It also radically changes an unhealthy living environment. A win on so many fronts, a simple but effective intervention. I'm hoping to do some maths and challenge Zion as an organisation to go carbon neutral at least for a year by buying new cooking stoves for Ghana, it'll probably cost less than you might think...I will try to present the idea graciously! I do hope that as a church we will consider this as one of the steps God is leading us to make. I also hope and pray we will all learn to rejoice in creation more alongside a repentance that leads to an active search for those truly holy and fulfilling lives that God has prepared for us.

Your brother in Christ

Stephen