Comment - August 2009
Celebrating creation
Our recent story about the Lambeth bees attracted a good deal of interest from far and wide. One response came from the Revd Jeff Golliher who is a keen beekeeper in New York State. Despite it being the start of the busy honey flow season there, Jeff emailed to say that with the help of another beekeeper in the Diocese of New York he is starting an Anglican Beekeeping Fellowship. He has identified several congregations in the States and a group in Chile and would love to know of any parishes in England who would like to join in what he describes as a group ‘mainly for news, healthy beekeeping practices, and fun'. Anyone wanting to contact Jeff is welcome to do so through shrinkingthefootprint@c-of-e.org.uk.
On a day when we read that beekeepers around the world are reporting losses of hives it would be good to encourage Anglican beekeepers to join together to create a network which can help combat the current problems affecting these vital communities. The Church of England is keen to play its part in next year's International Year of Biodiversity so do let us know if you have hives or are involved in beekeeping within your parish.
Bees are key to a third of the food we eat, by pollinating fruits, grains and vegetables and so it is natural to consider them as we celebrate Creation.
In 1989 the Ecumenical Patriarch, Dimitrios 1 suggested to all Churches to observe 1 September, for the Orthodox Churches the first day of the ecclesiastical year, as a day ‘of protection of the natural environment'. Ten years later the European Christian Environmental Network widened this proposal, urging churches to adopt a Time for Creation stretching from 1 September to the second Sunday in October. This has now been adopted by Churches around the world.
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland has put together a programme of resources to encourage and assist churches to observe a Time for Creation. See www.ctbi.org.uk. The theme for 2009 is Creation in Crisis - a time for prayer and action. In preparation for the UN Climate Change Summit in December, the resources include material to enable churches, groups and individuals to focus on issues relating to the decisions which will need to be taken in Copenhagen.
If you are planning a special event or a Harvest Festival during Creation Time there is new Shrinking the Footprint information leaflet which you are welcome to distribute. Contact shrinkingthefootprint@c-of-e.org.uk for copies.
Details have just been announced of two important initiatives for later this year. The Wave is an ecumenical event planned for 5 December for Christians to come together to stop climate chaos . The day will begin with a Christian Service in Westminster Central Hall with Archbishop Rowan Williams and Archbishop Vincent Nichols taking part. This will be followed by a family-friendly march around the Thames. To find out more including transport details see: cafod.org.uk/Copenhagen.
The day before, the Environmental Issues Network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) is organising a Climate Change Day of Prayer. The network brings together environmental representatives from all of Britain and Ireland's mainstream churches. Also involved are Christian development and environmental organisations, including Christian Aid, CAFOD, Tearfund, A Rocha, Christian Ecology Link, EcoCongregation, the John Ray Initiative, and Operation Noah.
British church leaders have expressed support for the day of prayer. "I shall be joining Christians from many different churches on 4 October in praying to the Author of Life and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that God's will be done during the decisive Copenhagen conference this December," said the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, chair of Shrinking the Footprint. "Prayer is powerful in dispelling the illusion that we are gods; an illusion which has wreaked such havoc on the earth."
