Climate Week, 12 - 18 March 2012
Climate Week hopes to inspire a new wave of action focusing on climate change and taking actions to create a sustainable future. It is an opportunity for churches to show that they care about creation and are playing a part.
Why should Christians care about creation? David Coffey, ex-President of the Baptist World Alliance writes in his book, Joy to the World: ‘We should care because everything we see is the handiwork of Jesus the Word. A lack of concern for creation reveals a very limited view of Jesus Christ.’
What can we do? Many churches are already ‘Eco-congregations’ or using the resources provided by the BMS World Mission or A Rocha but this week is a chance to revisit what difference your church is making. The organisers of Climate Week are encouraging groups of people to enter challenges, large or small, and have posted resources on their website www.climateweek.com
Three specific ideas for you to consider are:
- Making an art display (eg photographic, poetry, drawings) of God’s wonderful world with an emphasis on our dependence on climate as a way of encouraging thought. Ask members of your congregation to bring in their photos and give prizes for the best in different age groups.
- Organising an ‘environmental question time’ for an hour, where small groups can devise questions to ask a panel of experts, drawn from among yourselves or local area (including professional or environmental organisations).
- Encouraging people to calculate their carbon footprints and setting reduction targets.
Other suggestions are:
- Show a climate change related film
- Encourage cycling and walking to church and/or publicise lift sharing.
- Have a switch off campaign and switch off all lights and equipment. It’s Earth Hour on Saturday 26 March.
- Prepare a low-carbon meal for after the church service
Enter your ideas into the Climate Week challenge (see their website). Perhaps you could use the opportunity to centre a service on Creation Care adopting resources already available. Web sites to help you are:
www.arocha.org
www.creationchallenge.org.uk
www.bmsworldmission.org/resources
www.ecocongregation.org
www.christian-ecology.org.uk
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