This Lent, Bishop Helen-Ann is encouraging everyone to think and act differently and more responsibly for the planet and our global neighbour: ‘the 40 days of Lent is an ideal point to form new lower carbon habits that people can take forward. It’s that change that could be transformational if everyone could carry it through,’ she reflected. Inspired by the A Rocha UK’s Go Green(er) for Lent initiative, and the work of Climate Stewards, throughout Lent, Bishop Helen-Ann will be seeking ways of treading more lightly on our planet by highlighting sustainable practices already in place in Bishop’s House and the Bishop’s Office, with a different focus each week and ideas to share or consider. In our Year of Sharing, Bishop Helen-Ann hopes that a focus on the 5th Mark of Mission will encourage us in our lives as disciples.
Week 1: Creation care
Week 2: Consumerism / shopping
Week 3: Money / Investments
Week 4: Food waste / meat and dairy
Week 5: Transport / driving
Week 6: Energy / electricity / gas
Week 7: Social Media
You are invited to watch this introductory video from Duncan Cox, the Bishop’s Advisor for Climate Justice and the Environment.
Bishop Helen-Ann writes: ‘at the recent meeting of the General Synod in London, we heard a powerful speech by ++Marinez Rosa Dos Santos Bassotto (the Archbishop of Brazil) who spoke to the Synod about her ministry and mission context in the Diocese of the Amazon. She reminded us that churches can and should be a prophetic voice, and that as Synod members, we were in a position to encourage local churches and communities to focus on environmentally sustainable practices. Churches can act as bridges between different actors, as well as offering spiritual and pastoral support for people impacted by climate change. We can be agents of change; we cannot be observers. Our commitments should not be theoretical but a daily experience and shaped by the reality we live in. I was struck by the archbishop’s opening words to Synod, greeting us on behalf of her ‘people of the rivers and the forest.’ The Diocese of the Amazon is 136 years’ old, and is (in the archbishop's own words), ‘small but in missionary expansion’. Both these points immediately made me think of our own diocesan contexts of place and geography, and of our own diocesan age (144 years’ old this year). Archbishop Marinez offered a hope-filled and joyful rallying cry, one which will remain with us for the future.
Just before the archbishop spoke to Synod, during our morning worship, I was struck by an image in our prayers of God creating change. While we often resist change, I found the idea of the change being part of God’s creative power and life in our midst very inspiring and affirming. We are part of that landscape of change, which is why this Lent I am inviting us to share in a process of change towards a more sustainable and climate conscious future.’
A prayer in the Franciscan tradition by Rachel McCarthy/CAFOD:
Living God,
have mercy on us,
for the times we forget
that we belong to each other.
You call us to be still,
to hear the whisper of our Sister Wind,
to feel the radiance of our Brother Sun,
and to be nourished by our Mother Earth.
Renew us in your healing love.
Inspire us to water the earth,
And nurture one another,
so all may flourish.
Together, as one family,
may we always sing your praise.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.