Autumn Ministry School part 3
This week Beccy Clay writes about the thinking behind the ministry school that she and Simon are running. She has included an overview of its content.
Creation, The Climate Crisis & Our Response
Climate change has become one of the greatest, if not the greatest challenge facing the world today, yet too often the problem seems confusing, overwhelming or both. This group aims to explore this important issue.
From the very first page, the Bible speaks of creation in all its diversity and beauty, and throughout Scripture we are caught up, along with the natural world, in praise for the Creator! As human beings we have a special God-given role to care for the natural world, to protect and tend to all living things. As Christians, we know that ‘the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it’ (Psalm 24:1). God’s creation is good, but the way we’ve damaged it is pushing people deeper into poverty and driving ecosystems and habitats to the brink of collapse.
Remember the poor
Part of our commission is to care for all who live in the world, and we know that God’s heart is moved for the poor. Indeed Scripture speaks often about mercy and justice, and we are instructed in both Old Testament and New to ‘remember the poor’. (See Leviticus 25, Isaiah 61, Micah 6:8, Luke 10:25-37, Galatians 2:10 to name a few). This mandate takes on new meaning in the light of climate change.
Largely due to human activity since the industrial revolution, the global temperature of the earth is now 1˚C hotter than 100 years ago with 2010-2019 being the hottest decade ever recorded. Without drastic action, such temperature rises are set to continue, resulting in long term changes to our climate and making extreme weather conditions more likely, including droughts, flooding, tropical cyclones and wild fires. It is the poorest across the world that are facing the greatest impacts of such changes; climate change multiplies the threats the poorest in our world already face in gaining access to clean water, enough food, shelter or education.
‘Climate change is not only an environmental issue. Climate change is a poverty issue. It’s a hunger issue. It’s an issue of inequality and injustice. It’s a human issue. And that’s why we care’ (Tearfund).
As Christians surely we must act. Responding to the climate change is an important part of living out our faith & loving our neighbour.
Overview
This group aims to provide a context for exploring in detail our God-given mandate with regard to care of creation, investigating the current state of play regarding climate change, and discussing what our faith-fuelled response should be.
Session 1 – What does the Bible say about Creation?
Session 2 – Why is climate change a justice issue?
Session 3 – Making sense of the coverage – key facts about climate change
Session 4 – What can we do as a Church?
Session 5 – What can we do as individuals?
Session 6 – Where do we go from here?
Thank you Beccy
