Judith Russenberger

Proper 17, 13th Sunday after Trinity

30th August 2026

Reflection with readings below.

The overarching theme of today’s readings is that life is not free suffering – even for those who give their allegiance to God. Creation is still a work in progress?

I am reading Eat the Planet Well by Dave Goulson, a scientist who has specialised in bumblebees. He writes about adapting gardens and farmland to restore the lost habitats as a way of boosting the much depleted bumblebee population. He then writes about research he carried out on the effects of neonicotinoids on bees. His findings were clear and stark as to their highly detrimental affect.

But what surprised him more was the reaction of the pesticide industry, which threw vast sums of money at belittling his research – asserting it wasn’t truthful – lobbying politicians about the necessity of pesticides and the need to avoid legislation, bamboozling farmers about the multiple benefits of pesticides. Goulson records that the industry using the same game plan as the tobacco industry did in the 50s and 60s, as the fossil fuel industry has since at least the 1970s, and which both the meat and the plastics industries are also pursuing, falsely validating their product to ensure continued and increasing sales.

These are all industries that generate large profits for their shareholders, which use their size and financial clout to press governments across the world to protect their industries; which exploit the media to promote their product as good for society – Shell claims that they are key operators in ensuring energy security across the globe; which also use the media and think tanks to disabuse other viewpoints; and which have no regard for the damage their industries are causing. And indeed they are never asked to pay for the damage they cause.

Against these, campaigners and activists can feel overwhelmed. Will signing a petition, writing to my MP, joining a march, voting at AGMs, make any impact against mega sized corporations? Yet against the odds, they do continue to campaign.

Some campaigners conversely opt to undertake increasingly extreme actions to try and both raise public awareness and press governments to take action for the common good. Just Stop Oil took many nonviolent actions, such as closing down motorways, which did raise public awareness about the oil versus climate change issue but which also resulted in activists being imprisoned.

Such activists could echo the plaintive cry of Jeremiah. Why, he asks, does he suffer abuse and suffering from those who oppose God’s word? Why does he end up missing the parties and the good times because he is overwhelmed by the dire warnings of God’s? Is he in fact suffering pointlessly as he tries to adhere to God’s will?

God urges him to stay strong and to remain true to his calling, speaking truthfully God’s word and withstanding the forces of those who oppose God’s will. God will be with Jeremiah, God will provide him with resilience, and ensure his deliverance

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples not to turn away from the challenges and potential suffering that can result from following him. It is only by facing these challenges that they will experience life in all its richness. Whilst Paul in his letter to the Romans reminds us how we should live – loving and honouring others, being hospitable and generous – and how we should not fall into the trap of behaving like those who oppose God’s word. We should not revile or hate our opponents, nor repay evil with evil.

This is message for activists too. Our actions must bear the hallmark of what we stand for: they must reflect our beliefs. Equally we should not get sucked into responding to those who oppose us with words and actions that mirror theirs. We should continue to respect and be polite and honest in our actions and protests. Indeed we should bear in mind Paul’s words that we should go beyond the tit for tat, and actually minister positively towards those who oppose us when they are in need.

I also think part of the work of the activist, as it was for the prophet Jeremiah, is to bear witness to what is happening in the world around us, highlighting both what is going wrong and what is going aright. The horrendous tragedy unfolding in Nepal and Tibet is, in large part, the consequence of years of ignoring the damage caused by burning fossil fuels. We will not serve well current and future generations if we do not urgently address this issue – and here the ‘we’ has to be us as individuals, us as governments and us as businesses. Action will involve changing the way we live, consuming less, radically redistributing wealth. And so yes it will require us, if not to suffer, then at least to forgo what we see as pleasures and comforts – flying less, eating less meat and dairy, buying fewer electrical and fashion items, switching from gas boilers to electrical heating etc. But we may find life simpler and more enjoyable, and we will be doing all we can to avert further catastrophes that impact the lives of so many.

Jeremiah 15:15-21

O Lord, you know;
remember me and visit me,
and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors.

In your forbearance do not take me away;
know that on your account I suffer insult.

Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart;

for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.

I did not sit in the company of merrymakers,
nor did I rejoice;

under the weight of your hand I sat alone,
for you had filled me with indignation.

Why is my pain unceasing,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?

Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail.

Therefore, thus says the Lord:

If you turn back, I will take you back,
and you shall stand before me.

If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall serve as my mouth.

It is they who will turn to you,
not you who will turn to them.

And I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;

they will fight against you,
but they shall not prevail over you,

for I am with you
to save you and deliver you,

says the Lord.

I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.

Psalm 26:1-8

1 Give judgment for me, O Lord,
for I have lived with integrity; *
I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.

2 Test me, O Lord, and try me; *
examine my heart and my mind.

3 For your love is before my eyes; *
I have walked faithfully with you.

4 I have not sat with the worthless, *
nor do I consort with the deceitful.

5 I have hated the company of evildoers; *
I will not sit down with the wicked.

6 I will wash my hands in innocence, O Lord, *
that I may go in procession round your altar,

7 Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving *
and recounting all your wonderful deeds.

8 Lord, I love the house in which you dwell *
and the place where your glory abides.

Romans 12:9-21

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Matthew 16:21-28

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

The changing seasons

29th August 2026

Note: It seems as if Autumn is coming early this year. The extreme temperatures and lack of rain have desiccated many plants and are causing the early fall of leaves. There has also be a deeply sad sparsity of swallows and swifts. I first wrote these prayers 2 years ago when that seemed less acute. These prayers may therefore also represent something of the progress of climate change itself.

And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years – Genesis 1:14

A reading from Isaiah 55: 9-11

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Change Happens

A drop of water

falls.

Drip.

Another.

Drip.

Drip, drop – more fall.

The drip becomes a trickle;

Drip, drip, drop -.

the trickle a stream.

The stream becomes a river,

a down pour, a torrent –

surge, rush, roar.

A flood begins with just a drip.

Snow.

Sun on snow.

A little warmth,

a little melting.

A moment of easing,

loosening,

a shifting of weight.

gathering momentum –

And whoosh!

A million tonnes of speeding snow.

An avalanche begins with just one flake.

A swallow

perched on the telephone wire,

testers slightly.

Now or later?

One swallow, two.

Another, three. Sway.

Now or later?

Four, six;

Eight, ten. Now?

Gather, check, sense the air.

Now? Now!

Up, and away,

wings beat, compass set,

off –

fare well.

Where one or two are gathered,

change begins.

May God bless our endeavours.

Amen.

Mindful Sauntering: the in-coming of Autumn

There is a suggestion that a saunterer is a person walking to the Holy Land, coming from the French ‘à la sainte-terre’. So let’s consider sauntering to be a form of holy or blessed walking.

For everything there is a season,

a time for every activity under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die.

A time to plant and a time to harvest.

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.

He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:1,2,11

“Autumn … makes a double demand. It asks that we prepare for the future — that we be wise in the ways of garnering and keeping. But it also asks that we learn to let go — to acknowledge the beauty of sparseness.”

Bonaro Overstreet, “Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness,” in Jean Beaven Abernethy, Meditations for Women (1947)

Autumn

The leaves are falling, falling as if from far up,

as if orchards were dying high in space.

Each leaf falls as if it were motioning “no.”

And tonight the heavy earth is falling

away from all other stars in the loneliness.

We’re all falling. This hand here is falling.

And look at the other one. It’s in them all.

And yet there is Someone, whose hands

infinitely calm, holding up all this falling.

Rainer Maria Rilke (trans. Robert Bly)

God, open my mind and heart.

Lift the barriers,

unbind the strong grasp of my demands

when I want everything to go my way.

God, reach into my inner space.

Sweep out all my old clutter,

enlarge my capacity to receive.

God, empty me of whatever impedes

the growth of our relationship.

Help me to recognise and accept

your sources for my growth.

God, soften my resistance to emptying.

May I welcome each inner season

as a catalyst for my transformation.

Joyce Rupert

God of life, you believe in us, you enrich us, you entrust us with the freedom to choose life.

For all this, we are truly grateful.

Amen.

Proper 16, 12th Sunday after Trinity

23rd August 2026

Reflection with readings below

“What is the foundation of our faith, what underpins it, from what substrate does it grow, what is its backstory?” Such questions would seem to be what Isaiah is both asking and answering. What emerges is overwhelmingly positive.

God’s meta narrative (ie overarching story) is of restoration and redemption. What has become barren and desert-like will become as flourishing garden. The descendants of Abraham will receive instruction and justice, such that whatever the fragility of life, there will always be redemption and salvation. This is a story whose truth goes back to the beginning of time and continues to the end of time.

Our response, as the Psalmist reminds us, is to offer God due worship, sacrifice and praise. Whilst Paul’s words remind us that the sacrifice that God desires is to shape our lives, not according to the ways of the world – ways for example that are selfish, greedy and callous – but according to the ways – the wisdom – of God. ie. a mindset of which Jesus is the perfect exemplar.

We are then offered two different, or maybe overlapping, views of how the church might be shaped. Matthew’s Gospel, tells us that Jesus appoints Peter as the rock – the bedrock perhaps – on which the church will be founded. Peter is designated, or maybe ordained, to shape and lead the assembly of people that will become the Church. He will have the power to determine what will and what will not be lawful.

Paul on the other hand, has a vision of the church as being a collective that exists within the being – or presence – of Jesus, a collective in which each person has a role or a gift to contribute such that no one is less important nor more important than anyone else.

Of the two, I think the latter is both more demanding of each individual – and more rewarding. It is, perhaps, quite easy to understand and value our own skills, to see how important it is that we achieve our full potential – and receive our just praise and reward. It is less easy to understand and value the skills of a community that works together harmoniously. It is less easy to appreciate and accommodate in our lives, the skills and gifts that others have.

It would seem easier to have an understanding of ‘my personal vocation’, my personal role in following Jesus, in which my success will be doing what is right and my failure will be when others thwarted me. It is harder I think to have an understanding of the ‘community’s vocation’, of its role in following Jesus. For in that scenario I have to know my neighbours, I have to know and value their gifts. I have to work in harmony with them, ensuring that the joint efforts of our gifts is what flourishes. I have to accept what others have to give me, and be willing to share what I have with them. This is a community where teamwork is key, where trust and honesty are essential, where communication – both in hearing and in articulating – has to be clear, where the common good not personal gain is the objective. This is a community where forbearance and leadership must work together.

It is a community with a way of life that will be counter-cultural until such time as everyone embraces the reign of God. It is therefore a community that will have to think carefully as it seeks to find ways of living alongside – but not conforming to – the ways of the ‘world’. Holding onto the promise, the vision, of God’s meta narrative will be important.

We will, for example, need to be a community that welcomes the stranger, the alien, the outsider – doing so because that is part of God’s story even when the ‘world’ stigmatises such people.

We will, for example, need to be a community that respects and cares for the natural world because doing so is part of God’s story even when the ‘world’ sees nature as either a nice to have extra or as a mere resource to be exploited to maximise profits.

We will, for example, need to be a community that shares its resources so that there is neither rich nor poor, because doing so is part of God’s story even when the ‘world’ says we must hang onto our wealth to ensure that nobody else gets the better of us.

Paul does not ignore the role of leadership. Leadership is one of the gifts that is a constituent part of the church body – but it is a gift that is exercised in partnership with all the other gifts that make up the living body of the church – the living body of Jesus Christ. Such leadership is equally to be recognisable because it is counter cultural, because it is not conformed to the ‘world’s’ way of doing things but is shaped by the wisdom of God.

Isaiah 51:1-6

Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness,
you that seek the Lord.

Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.

Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;

for he was but one when I called him,
but I blessed him and made him many.

For the Lord will comfort Zion;
he will comfort all her waste places,

and will make her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the Lord;

joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.

Listen to me, my people,
and give heed to me, my nation;

for a teaching will go out from me,
and my justice for a light to the peoples.

I will bring near my deliverance swiftly,
my salvation has gone out
and my arms will rule the peoples;

the coastlands wait for me,
and for my arm they hope.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;

for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and those who live on it will die like gnats;

but my salvation will be for ever,
and my deliverance will never be ended.

Psalm 138

1 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; *
before the gods I will sing your praise.

2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and praise your Name, *
because of your love and faithfulness;

3 For you have glorified your Name *
and your word above all things.

4 When I called, you answered me; *
you increased my strength within me.

5 All the kings of the earth will praise you, O Lord, *
when they have heard the words of your mouth.

6 They will sing of the ways of the Lord, *
that great is the glory of the Lord.

7 Though the Lord be high, he cares for the lowly; *
he perceives the haughty from afar.

8 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe; *
you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies;
your right hand shall save me.

9 The Lord will make good his purpose for me; *
O Lord, your love endures for ever;
do not abandon the works of your hands.

Romans 12:1-8

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God– what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Matthew 16:13-20

When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

In times of drought

22nd August 2026

I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. Leviticus 26:19

You Lord, our the source of all wisdom:

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:

May we live together in peace.

A reading from Haggai 1:5-6, 9b-11

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.’

‘Why?’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labour of your hands.’

Patient God,

have mercy on us for our foolishness.

We ignored the rising temperatures

and the extreme weather events,

thinking it would not affect us.

We did not heed the warning signs:

we lived as if there would always be more water,

as if we could have enough water to wash our cars and patios,

grow crops and fodder, feed cattle and cool data centres.

Patient God,

have mercy on us for our pride,

our desire for greater riches,

our confidence that economic growth was the only way.

We were sure we were in control:

that we could buy fast fashion and disregard its ecological footprint,

that we could eat meat and not consider where cattle food came from,

that we could enjoy lives of luxury without being mindful of the poor.

Patient God,

have mercy on us for our arrogance,

our certainty that we had all the answers,

that nature would always be at our beck and call.

The future was ours and we were kings:

we could extract more and more from the planet – and not give back,

we had the technology that would provide all the answers,

we had no need for restraint!

God of recreation,

renew your spirit within us.

May we learn from your wisdom ways of caring for the land,

ways to conserve precious water,

and ways to live joyfully within limits of the planet.

God of restoration,

renew your spirit within us.

May we find true happiness that comes from joy not financial gain,

that comes from discerning the true value of all we consume,

and that seeks fulfilment in the wellbeing of others.

God of reformation,

renew within us your spirit.

May we respect the gifts of nature,

learning to give a well as take,

and returning to a life lived within the natural environment.

Amen.

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. Isaiah 44:3 3

Proper 15, 11th Sunday after Trinity

16th August 2026

Reflection with readings below

To summarise today’s readings, they all in their different ways, tell us that God’s salvation is for everyone – whatever the race or creed. God’s kingdom – the kingdom of heaven – is for everyone, yet it is bizarrely something we can find hard to accept.

Let us look again at the gospel reading. It is not the only story where the disciples try to send people away from Jesus – to deny them Jesus’s blessing. When people bring children to be blessed, the disciples try and send them away, but Jesus reaches out and blesses the children – and describes them as owners of the kingdom of heaven.

When the 5000 and against the 4000 gather to listen to Jesus, the disciples try to send them away to find their own food, but Jesus tells them to gather the people and what food is available so that they can be fed.

Conversely we also read stories where those who were outsiders and who approach Jesus are blessed – the leper, the centurion, the two men of the Gadarenes who were possessed, the woman with the haemorrhage, and the two blind men. Indeed Jesus describes this growing crowd of people who seek his blessing – his healing – as the plentiful harvest for which there are too few labourers.

Where we read “Jesus answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”” I wonder if we should hear “Was I sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel?” Jesus is answering in response to the disciples demand that he send that he send her away because she is shouting so much. It is, I feel, the disciples – and the woman – who are learning that Jesus is not just for an exclusive few, but for everyone.

The kingdom of heaven that Jesus is establishing is for everyone – for the outsider and in the insider. Sometimes the insiders find this hard to accept and want either special treatment for themselves, or want to exclude everyone else. We see this shown through the example of the Pharisees but do also see it in the initial responses of the disciples. Sometimes it is the outsiders who find it hard to accept.

The mission of the gospel is to seek to find ways of bringing everyone into the understanding that God’s kingdom is for everyone. We are all crew.

Isaiah 56:1,6-8

Thus says the Lord:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,

for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.

And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,

all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
and hold fast my covenant–

these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;

their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;

for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.

Thus says the Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel,

I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.

Psalm 67

1 May God be merciful to us and bless us, *
show us the light of his countenance and come to us.

2 Let your ways be known upon earth, *
your saving health among all nations.

3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.

4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, *
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide all the nations upon earth.

5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.

6 The earth has brought forth her increase; *
may God, our own God, give us his blessing.

7 May God give us his blessing, *
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

Matthew 15: 21-28

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Sound the alarm!

15h August 2026

Blow the ram’s horn trumpet in Zion! Trumpet the alarm on my holy mountain! Shake the country up!

Joel 2:1a (The Message)

You Lord, our the source of all wisdom:

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:

May we live together in peace.

A reading – 1 Kings 19:11b, 12

And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was a fearsome tumult, but the LORD was not in the tumult. After the tumult there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice.

A response

In the face of typhoons and hurricanes,

we hold in our hearts to those who suffer injury

and loss of life.

We ache in our hearts for the loss of homes and livelihoods,

the destruction of essential infrastructure,

and the hollowing out of economies.

We lay before you O God,

our prayers for strength and healing,

for compassion and recovery.

We hang our heads in shame

for our failure to address climate change,

for our failure to equip vulnerable communities

in the face of the risks we have created.

Lord have mercy!

Hear our prayer.

In the face of the tumult of war and violence,

we hold in our hearts to those who suffer injury

and loss of life.

We ache in our hearts for the loss of homes and livelihoods,

the destruction of essential infrastructure,

and the hollowing out of economies.

We lay before you O God,

our prayers for strength and healing,

for compassion and recovery.

We hang our heads in shame

for our failure to address injustice and inequality,

for our failure to address long held grievances,

for our failure to support vulnerable communities

in the face of the greed of the economic systems that we have created.

Lord have mercy!

Hear our prayer.

In the face of wild fires and drought,

we hold in our hearts to those who suffer injury

and loss of life.

We ache in our hearts for the loss of homes and livelihoods,

the destruction of essential infrastructure,

and the hollowing out of economies.

We lay before you O God,

our prayers for strength and healing,

for compassion and recovery.

We hang our heads in shame

for our failure to address climate change,

for our failure to equip vulnerable communities

in the face of the risks we have created.

Lord have mercy!

Hear our prayer.

In the face of failed harvests and poverty,

we hold in our hearts to those who suffer injury

and loss of life.

We ache in our hearts for the loss of homes and livelihoods,

the diminution of the right for a good life,

and the hollowing out of economies.

We lay before you O God,

our prayers for strength and healing,

for compassion and recovery.

We hang our heads in shame

for our failure to address climate change,

for our failure to share equitably the riches of creation,

our failure to care for vulnerable communities

in the face of the unjust world we have created.

Lord have mercy!

Hear our prayer.

But there’s also this, it’s not too late — God’s personal Message! –

“Come back to me and really mean it! Come fasting and weeping, sorry for your sins!”

Joel 2:12 (The Message)

Green Tau: the human component

How do and how should humans be key parts of the natural environment?

5th August 2026

Humans are part of the Earth’s ecosystems. Ecosystems are environments where participants give and receive such that, when in balance, everyone thrives.

Humans are not passive participants. We can and should be active participants for the common good of ourselves as a species and for the other species with which we are cohabitants.

When as early settlers we cleared land of trees and scrub, and planted hedgerows, we created spaces not just for grow food but spaces where other species could find their niche and thrive. Wheat fields for example can provide niche spaces for birds such as the yellow hammer, corn bunting and the tree sparrow, animals such harvesting mice, voles and hares, and wild plants such as poppies, corncockles and cornflowers. Using the land in this way, humans gained food and straw (for thatching, making hats, bedding for animals etc) and gave back a habitats for a rich diversity of wildlife.

When as pastoralists we grazed sheep and cattle, our livestock cleared scrub and tough weeds creating niche habitats for other species particularly flowering plants, the insect life that these support and then the bird life that they support, whilst the dung supports other forms of life above and within the soil. Different animals graze in different ways supporting different ecosystems. Humans gained food, wool and leather, and means of transport and pulling power, and gave back habitats for a rich diversity of wildlife.

To collect water for livestock, we humans created ponds, and to drain roads and fields we created ditches. Each of these features created more and different habitats for a wide diversity of wildlife.

Humans cultivated woodland coppicing hazel, willow and chestnut trees to provide wood for different uses – hurdles, fencing and gates, tools and poles etc. Humans planted orchards for fruit and at the same time provided habitats for another wide variety of wildlife.

All these are examples of ways in which humans have interacted with other species within the various ecosystems. As well as the obvious benefits to humans – food to eat, materials with which to build homes, make clothes etc – there are less obvious but equally important benefits that we gain from the ecosystems within which we live: eg air that is clean because plants have absorbed impurities, water that is clean to drink because rock strata, reed beds etc have filtered out impurities, rainfall because plants (especially trees) have recycled water back into the atmosphere, flood resilience because trees and plants, soils rich in organic matter and windy rivers have absorbed and slowed the flow of water, and a comfortable climate because the air, oceans, trees and bogs have absorbed carbon dioxide.

And then there are yet other benefits – the mental and physical wellbeing that being in a green or blue environment gives us, the inspiration for worship, spaces to meet and spaces to build homes and communities.

These benefits accrued to us because our interactions with the numerous ecosystems was sustainable. Our interactions with these ecosystems were mutually beneficial. However we are increasingly witnessing what happens when humans destabilise and degrade ecosystems, when humans take too much and give back too little. We have crossed seven of the nine planetary boundaries; Earth Overshoot day this year was 30th July.

An obvious example is the climate. By pushing more and more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, whilst at the same time reducing the capacity of the Earth to absorb carbon dioxide through deforestation, through draining and drying out bogs and wetlands, through compacting soils and reducing the levels of organic material, we have destabilised ecosystem that regulates climate. . Increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere have insulted the Earth, increasing temperatures and increasing the energy within weather systems making them more extreme.

Another example is biodiversity. By increasing usage of fertilisers, by increasing the use of pesticides and herbicides, by clearing forests and replacing them with single crop plantations, by increasing the numbers and the concentration of farm livestock, by destroying local habitat, by draining lakes and rivers, etc etc, we have seen a steep and rapid decline in biodiversity. To take just one example until 50 years ago any summer time car-trip necessitated regular cleaning of the windscreen to remove dead insects. Now with the increased use of pesticides (and herbicides removing the plants that fed and sheltered many insects) insect populations have dwindled. Indeed the decline is such that there is risk that if this decline continues, it will materially affect the pollination of crops.

The Earth’s ecosystems cannot sustain our current lifestyles. We need to reform and reshape our lifestyles so that they are sustainable, so that they give as well as take from the ecosystems of which we are a part.

Restoring biodiversity – and ensuring our existence on Earth is sustainable – is about looking at how we use the land (and seas). It is not necessarily about removing our presence from ecosystems but ensuring that our presence is beneficial. Industrialised agriculture is not beneficial for ecosystems – even if it produces extra food for humans and/or livestock. Less intensive agriculture that works in harmony with ecosystems is beneficial – and will produce food for the long term. However opting for the latter rather than the former does require us to review and change our diets to ones that are compatible with sustainability.

Restoring biodiversity is also about recognising and valuing the life support systems that its sustains – a comfortable climate, clean air and water, water management etc. Our economic system does not have a ready way of doing this: legislation is likely a more effective route.

Restoring biodiversity should also involve us in reviewing how we use the land and in particular how it supports our physical and mental wellbeing, and how it can support good community life. Do we ensure fair access for everyone? Do we ensure our rural and urban communities are structured so that they provide meaningful employment, comfortable housing, pleasant spaces for relaxation and community building for everyone?

Counting on … day 84

4th August 2026

Resilience is about being able to cope with emergencies. Having a first kit is part of that. Ditto knowing how to administer first aid. The British Red Cross and St John’s Ambulance both run first aid training courses. They also have a downloadable handbook. Not included in a first aid kit, but nevertheless useful are essentials such as paracetamol and other such standard medications depending on why you would normally use.

As well as a first aid kit, it is sensible to have in hand a spare medication if you have some you need to take regularly.

The British Red Cross has a useful emergency first aid app – https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-help/prepare-for-emergencies/free-emergency-apps

Counting on … day 83

3rd August 2026

As well as knowing where the stopcock is, a bucket could be another useful asset in the case of emergencies.

Another handy item would be at least one torch and some spare batteries – or a rechargeable torch that you do keep fully charged. In the past we would have said have some candles but from a safety point of view a camping style lantern that runs on a battery would be better.

Equally useful in a different way would be a head torch – handy for washing up or cooking in the dark.