Weekly Action - 3 September 2024 - Season of Creation
Take action on climate change, for a fast transition to a zero-carbon economy, as we celebrate the Season of Creation.
Season of Creation
This month, from Sunday 1 September to Friday 4 October, churches around the world are celebrating the Season of Creation, the period in the church calendar where we focus on the beauty and wonder of God’s creation, and the need to care for it. And creation certainly needs our urgent attention. In recent years the impacts of climate change around the world have included heatwaves, droughts, floods, cyclones, wildfires, landslides, massive polar melting, the melting of the world’s glaciers, sea-level rise, the devastation of coral systems, mass food and fresh water shortages, ill health, huge negative economic impacts, conflicts over scarce resources, the creation of huge numbers of climate refugees, and much more. The last eighteen months have seen a massive and tragic food crisis in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, heatwaves across Europe, the US and the northern hemisphere, devastating floods in Pakistan, New Zealand, the UK, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, record temperatures and much more, all as a result of global climate change. All of which hits the poorest nations hardest.
Climate change is impacting millions of ordinary people like Gloria, a friend of Arise from the Philippines. “We have always experienced typhoons in our country. They used to come from the same direction at the same time of year. But now they hit the country from every direction all throughout the year” she says. In one of the worst of these storms their home was destroyed, along with thousands of others, when a typhoon cut a swathe of devastation many miles wide over multiple islands. “The storm shook the whole house. The children were crying. Then the storm ripped the roof off, then all the walls. My husband and I kept the children safe by pinning them to the floor underneath us, whilst we gripped the floorboards, to stop us all being blown way. The wind and the rain were screaming all around us. It was terrifying.”
As Christians what should we do about it?
As Christians we are called to look after and care for God’s amazing creation, it belongs to him, not us, as it says in the Psalms, “The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it” (Psalm 89: 11). We therefore need to urgently get out of fossil fuels which are driving global climate change, and instead shift to 100% clean renewable energy, which does not lead to climate change, and is cheaper as well. The new UK government does in fact intend to deliver a zero-carbon electricity system in the UK by 2030. This is an important commitment, but still further ambition is needed. That plan needs to be expanded out to include every sector not just energy generation – transport, heating/buildings, industrial emissions etc., and the government should also be calling for this internationally, not just domestically. Arise’s 4 Shifts Campaign calls for a complete rewiring of our global economy to be green and fair, so it still creates the jobs and wealth that lift people out of poverty, but does so without relying on fossil fuels and the overconsumption which is wrecking our planet.
Take Action
Speak out in advocacy
Write to your MP in your own words, and ask them to …
- Urge the UK government to call for a strengthening of the global Paris Agreement on climate change to shift to zero emissions and 100% clean renewable energy, and ban the use of fossil fuels in every nation by 2030.
- Urge the UK to pass national legislation to bring this into effect in the UK, and implement it in every sector (energy, transport, buildings, industry etc.)
- If this is the first time you have contacted your MP since the election remember to congratulate them. Let them know that you will be praying for them and that you look forward to corresponding with them and meeting them.
Find your MP and their contact details here, and write to them at …
(name) MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Pray
Pray for people around the world who are being impacted by climate change. Pray for housing and shelter, food, medical care, new jobs, and livelihoods that are resilient to climate change. Pray for more action from governments to rapidly shift the economy out of fossil fuels and into 100% clean renewable energy by 2030.
Give
Give to Christian organisations like Cafod, Christian Aid, Tearfund or World Vision who are supporting the poorest communities impacted by climate change around the world.
Ethical Consumption
Help to combat deforestation, which is a major driver of climate change, by only buying wooden products that are sustainably logged.
Practical Action
Install an energy monitor at home. Use it to help identify ways you can reduce your energy use and save carbon emissions.
Find out more
Latest news – Updates on previous campaigns and latest news from the Arise movement.
Join a local Arise group in your church or area – It’s great to take this action as individual Christians, but even better to come together with others to pray, discuss, worship, learn, have fun and take action together. Contact Arise if you are interested.
Arise Manifesto – Find out more about this week’s action in the Arise Manifesto, Arise’s big picture, researched, Biblical, holistic and practical vision for a better world.
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