Author: Judith Russenberger

Environmentalist and theologian, with husband and three grown up children plus one cat, living in London SW14. I enjoy running and drinking coffee - ideally with a friend or a book.

The Lord’s Prayer rephrased

2nd August 2025

Behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst. Luke 17:21b

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

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 Luke 13:18-21

Jesus said therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.’ And again he said, ‘To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

A response: 

Heavenly Mother & Father of us all,

Holy is your name.

Holy is your creation, 

from the heights above to the deepest depths, 

from the farthest horizon to the ground beneath our feet.


May your Kingdom come, 

may your reign prevail  and never end.

For the rule of God is to act 

with loving kindness and justice, 

with mercy and humility. 


Give us today our daily bread, 

feed us with your love, 

nourish us in our insecurities –

and give not just to us your people 

but to all our kindred in creation.


And in receiving, 

may we too become givers,  

giving bread, 

giving love, 

giving respect.


Forgive us our sins, 

forgive us  where we have fallen short 

and heal us, 

that we too may forgive 

and heal the wounds we have caused.


Enable us to look upon each other with love, 

knowing each and everyone 

to be a child created in your image 


Protect us from pride and apathy, 

direct us away from greed, 

vanity and temptation. 

Deliver us from evil, 

from the ills we have created.


In your Kingdom we will find glory, 

in your reign we will find harmony, 

and under your rule we will find peace.

Amen. Amen.

Amen.

Counting on … day 122

1st August 2025

The third aim of the Third Order of St Franciscan addresses the issue of wealth, income and advantage so as to focus on living simply.

“The first Christians surrendered completely to our Lord and recklessly gave all that they had, offering the world a new vision of a society in which a fresh attitude was taken towards material possessions. This vision was renewed by Saint Francis when he chose Lady Poverty as his bride, desiring that all barriers set up by privilege based on wealth should be overcome by love. This is the inspiration for the third aim of the Society, to live simply.

“Although we possess property and earn money to support ourselves and our families, we show ourselves to be true followers of Christ and of Saint Francis by our readiness to live simply and to share with others. We recognise that some of our members may be called to a literal following of Saint Francis in a life of extreme simplicity. All of us, however, accept that we avoid luxury and waste, and regard our possessions as being held in trust for God.

Personal spending is limited to what is necessary for our health and well-being and that of our dependents. We aim to stay free from all attachment to wealth, keeping ourselves constantly aware of the poverty in the world and its claim on us. We are concerned more for the generosity that gives all, rather than the value of poverty in itself. In this way we reflect in spirit the acceptance of Jesus’ challenge to sell all, give to the poor, and follow him.” (1)

Living simply is about sharing what we do have, avoiding luxury and attachment to wealth, and using/ spending what we do have in a way that we would happily declare to God, aligning our use of resources according to the will of God – including environmental issues.

  1. https://tssf.org/about-the-third-order/the-principles/

Green Tau: issue 112

“Poor Clare” and the tricky question of wealth

31st July 2025

“Improbably funny US drama about Saint Clare of Assisi’s renouncement of worldly wealth” Time-out (1)

Earlier this week I went to see a performance of “Poor Clare”, by Chiara Atik, at the Orange Tree theatre in Richmond. It was a beautiful production set in 13th century period costume with a wonderful script that was conversely in the idiom of the 21st century. Clare and her sister Beatrice are like two teenagers preparing for a prom night. 

“Okay so for the skirt, I’m thinking like a gold thread and then the cloth would be like … I don’t know, I’m thinking purple … or like … purplish blue…”

“I like that ‘cause it’s like … deferential.”

“What for you mean?”

“Blue is like, modest. It’s what Mary wore”

“For the bodice … like I want it to go to here-ish – very covered up, very classy.”

“K”

“In red”

“No”

“Just like, a cute lil’ red bodice.”

“Red? Mom would never let you!”  (abridged) (2) 

We see how theses two sisters are ensconced in the world of wealth, how wealth and class shapes what they can and can’t do. We see their acceptance of the status quo as they happily allow maids to do their hair and wash their feet. 

Francis on the other hand we see as the born again idealist who is so caught up in his utopian dream of embracing poverty, that his thoughts run faster than his feet. Francis is acutely aware how wealth and the privilege both inflicts pain on those who don’t have it,  and  blinds those that do. He sees wealth and privilege as so utterly opposed to what God desires that he cannot for a second be compromised by living within its structures. As the story unfolds, he is casting aside piece by piece every part of his life that undermines his vision. 

Francis of course is – or rather was – himself a rich young man. Is his decision to renounce the world something that only someone who is rich can do? We see Clare’s two maids debating the impracticality of doing away with wealth and class – Maybe if the poor had just a little bit more, then they wouldn’t be quite so poor? We also see the homeless ex-soldier and the down-and out beggar giving their take on the issues of redistributing wealth – Does a second hand doublet really fit the bill?

Piqued by Francis, Clare begins a journey of self exploration – does she truly deserve the wealth she has? Does it make her happy? Can she reconcile her good fortune with the plight of those she would rather avoid? Can she justify being wealthy if she were to be a bit more generous? 

Clare’s mother understands the dilemma having travelled to the Holy Land many years before. There, she tells Clare,  however much food they gave to the starving children that swarmed around, there always seemed to be more at the next pilgrim site. Her mother commends getting pregnant: Clare will be able to pour out all her pent-up love and devotion on her children; she will never need have a conscience about anything else.

Step by step Clare follows Francis’s example, divesting herself of the world. But of the two, I think she has greater certainty, greater confidence that she is doing the right thing. She has thought through each issue and knows that she cannot remained within a system which perpetuates such injustices and suffering. 

The play left me feeling challenged: how can I be part of a system that I believe to be flawed? And yet how can I not be part of that system when there seems to be no realistic  alternative? And that challenges me to look again at my vocation as a Franciscan tertiary and how it can enable me to live within but contri to the system of worldly wealth. 

(1) https://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/poor-clare-review

(2) https://www.dramatists.com/previews/6322.pdf

NB The first tertiaries/ secular Franciscans where in fact given their particular vocation and lifestyle by Francis himself in response to the large numbers of married couples who wanted to follow his example. They were to continue living in their own homes and yet still devote themselves to living according to the principles and objectives that Francis taught.

There are different groups of Franciscan tertiaries (Anglican) and seculars Franciscans (Roman Catholic) across the world.

I’m part of the Third Order of the Society of St Francis – https://tssf.org.uk/

Counting on … day 121

31st July 2025

Tomorrow sees the start of Amazon Free August. Like Plastic Free July, the aim is to encourage us to focus on how what we consume impacts both the environment and social wellbeing. Amazon is deeply unethical on many grounds – not least because it encourages us to buy more and more stuff, but also because of its poor track records on paying taxes and treating its workforce fairly.

It is possible to be a consumer  without relying on Amazon:-  https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethical-campaigns/boycott-amazon/shopping-without-amazon

A further thought that covers all online shopping, are we happy with the way that on line shopping is changing the landscape – with increasing numbers of large warehouses and diminished numbers of high street shops – and how that change has a knock on effect for where people work, for socialising and social cohesion?

Counting on … day 120

30th July 2025

Wealth too plays a part in what is ‘enough’. I’m in my sixties, my husband a decade older. We live comfortably on his pension – but we can do so because we own the house we live in; we have never not had enough and so benefit from good health;  we both get joy from walking, swimming and cycling; we both have had good educations and appreciate the enjoyment of reading and writing; we have over the years accumulated good quality clothes and shoes and so have little  need to spend on what we wear; we have good networks of friends and socialise through activity groups; we have strong family relationships; we are both active church goers. Not all of these are the direct benefits of wealth but wealth has certainly helped shape of lives and health and wellbeing and allows us to do things that bring us joy for free.

Other people of a similar age may not have these benefits nor feel the security net that wealth brings. For them an income that allows for joy in enough would be more than I and my husband need.  

The bar chart below shows how disproportionately wealth is spread and the considerable contribution that stems from having property (and that will increase the closer one lives to London or other property hot spots) and having a private pension. 

Counting on … day 119

29th July 2025

If there is a minimum level of pay for a dignified standard of living, is there a maximum level of pay that   optimises happiness? 

Research from Raisin (a financial organisation that provides a platform for savings and investment products) in its report ‘Does money buy happiness?’ suggests a figure of about  £35,000 pa.(1)

Whilst BBC’s Money Box programme suggests that, whilst a higher income can equal greater happiness, there is a cut off point at £120,000 beyond which the gain seems negligible. (2) 

(1) https://www.raisin.co.uk/newsroom/does-money-buy-happiness/

(2) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1yxp6zSJHfjQh9TMx0j8LPL/how-much-money-do-you-need-to-be-happy

Counting on … day 118

28th July 2025

What would Joy in Enough look like in daily life?

For some of us, it might mean spending less, but for others it might more practically mean simply having enough money for daily living.

The following video clip sets out to answer ‘How much is enough?”

Date from MIS is used by the Living Wage Foundation to calculate the ‘real living wage’ – a voluntary wage scale that seek to ensure people are paid enough for their work to cover the actual cost of living. Employers who pay this minimum level can sign up as accredited members of the foundation. Such employers cover a diverse range of businesses – Lush, Oxfam, Brixton Brewery, St George’s NHS Trust, Aviva, Channel 4, The Old Vic etc.

https://www.livingwage.org.uk/what-real-living-wage

Proper 12 sixth Sunday after Trinity

27th July 2025

Reflection with readings below 

Names are important in the first reading because names can have meanings.Hosea means salvation. Gomer means completion. And as we hear, each of Gomer’s children have names with meanings. 

Hosea is a prophet who, rather than passing on God’s message through words spoken to the people, is called to enact God’s message – to demonstrate it in a very physical way. And it would have been a message that took several years to deliver. 

God’s message delivered to the people is a stark reminder that they have been unfaithful. They have not stuck to the promises – to the covenants – made between God and people. They have not been monogamous in their relationship with God. They have not followed the ways of God. Rather they have pursued other gods and other ways of living. And likewise with Gomer. It would seem as if Gomer’s first child is Hosea’s son but the other two children may not. Even though Hosea has rescued Gomer once by marrying her, still she sins. 

The consequence of the people’s unfaithfulness is ruin and destruction. Yet the text suggests that it is not just the people who are caught up in this sinfulness – “for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” The word used does mean land or earth. Is the land, like Gomer’s offspring, an innocent victim? Has the land suffered because of the waywardness of the people who should  – in accordance with God’s will – have been tending and protecting it?

Or would kingdom be a better – if not accurate – translation? The kingdoms of both Jehu and Judah both suffer and will ultimately be taken over by the Assyrians and the Babylonians.

This last week the world past Earth Overshoot Day – 24th July – being the day when globally we have used up a full year’s supply of resources and services that the Earth provides. Some countries – the poorest, least developed – will not have used even a half of their share whilst other richer highly developed countries will have used their share many times over. And the latter is even more criminal in that those countries have been able to do this because they have unfairly used resources that belonged to someone else, and because their over consumption is also at the expense of  generations to come.

Have we been unfaithful to God? Has the world failed to follow God’s will? Have we pursued other gods – profit, wealth, capitalism, egotism and self importance?

Are we any different from the recipients of Hosea’s message? Are we failing to hear or to pay attention to the warning of the prophets? Are we not polluting the land by ignoring God’s will? 

Today’s gospel tells how Jesus gave his follower the Lord’s Prayer. It is a prayer which we use frequently. But do we pray it with intent?

Do we see all of humanity as our brothers and sisters, for whom God is Father and Mother? Or do we see some as being less important, not worth treating as God’s children?

Do we honour God’s name? Or do we forget or belittle God as a less than worthy partner?

Do we strive to do what God wills? Often we take ‘your will be done’ as a get out clause. What ever happens for good or ill (and usually this is reserved for the latter) we meekly say that whatever has happened has happened because it was God’s will. The flood that washed away the village; the person who died prematurely; the lightening strike that destroyed a tree – all God’s will. I don’t believe that God wants floods to destroy villages, people to die prematurely or lightening to destroy trees – for God’s nature is love. That these things happen must grieve God. That sometimes they happened because we humans have not done what God would want, must grieve God even more.

‘Your will be done’ is about us undertaking to do that which God desires, to do those things express God’s love, to undertake to live as citizens of God’s kingdom, as subjects of God’s reign – to do God’s will. Thus will the world be healed. Thus will we find salvation. 

I wonder how the listeners of Hosea’s message responded?

Puzzlement, derision, anger, disbelief? Did they listened or did they simply ignored the protest and carry on as before?

I wonder how we may and our communities, responded to the prophetic warning of Earth Overshoot Day? I wonder how we may and our communities, respond to the daily reports of the effects of climate change, of the impacts of capitalism and globalisation on the poor, the suffering of those treated as being less than human, less than God’s children? 

Rebalancing our global consumption of the Earth’s resources and services will take more than just making major adjustments to what we consume. To overcome inequality we will need a major overhaul  of systems of trade and taxation.  To overcome poverty will need a major focus in redistribution and better distribution of resources.  To over overcome war and oppression, apartheid and genocide will need humility and empathy, discernment and good communication, cooperation and a willingness to seek justice. And we all need to engage with this for we are called to be citizens of God’s kingdom as we pray, with the help of God, ‘your will be done!’ 

Hosea 1:2-10

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

And the Lord said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”

She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.”

When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.”

Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.”

Psalm 85

1 You have been gracious to your land, O Lord, *
you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.

2 You have forgiven the iniquity of your people *
and blotted out all their sins.

3 You have withdrawn all your fury *
and turned yourself from your wrathful indignation.

4 Restore us then, O God our Saviour; *
let your anger depart from us.

5 Will you be displeased with us for ever? *
will you prolong your anger from age to age?

6 Will you not give us life again, *
that your people may rejoice in you?

7 Show us your mercy, O Lord, *
and grant us your salvation.

8 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, *
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their hearts to him.

9 Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *
that his glory may dwell in our land.

10 Mercy and truth have met together; *
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth shall spring up from the earth, *
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12 The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, *
and our land will yield its increase.

13 Righteousness shall go before him, *
and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.

Colossians 2:6-15 

As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.

Luke 11:1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, `Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, `Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

“Thy will be done”

26th July 2025

Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their sibling are liars; for those who do not love a sibling whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 1 John 4:20

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

May your name be hallowed.

You call us to love every neighbour as ourself: 

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 Matthew 25: 35-40

for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?”  And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[a] you did it to me.”

Love the Lord your God with heart and soul and mind and strength.

The migrant is a figure of hate, 

the asylum seeker despised; 

the Jew is stereotyped, 

the Muslim is vilified.

“Thy will be done”?

Have mercy on us good Lord, 

that we learn to do your will.

Love your neighbour as yourself.

The homeless lie destitute on the pavement, 

the lonely sit isolated in their homes, 

the poor queue in food banks, 

the rich are spoilt for choice.

“Thy will be done”?

Have mercy on us good Lord, 

that we learn to do your will.

Do not opposes the orphan, the widowed, nor the foreigner.

The children are reduced to bones by malnutrition, 

the widowed go hungry;

the stateless have no rights 

and the alien is deported.

“Thy will be done”?

Have mercy on us good Lord, 

that we learn to do your will.

Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty.

Food aid sits in compounds as Palestinians die on their feet; 

whilst those collecting water become targets for snipers.

In the West, food banks and food waste co-exist, 

whilst health service tackle obesity and malnutrition.

“Thy will be done”?

Have mercy on us good Lord, 

that we learn to do your will.

Seek justice, love mercy.

Warfare grinds on in Ukraine and the Congo, 

in Myanmar and Thailand, in Gaza and Yemen.

Justice falters where drug wars and gang violence, 

land grabs and forced migration take precedence. 

The rich and powerful have no mercy.

“Thy will be done”?

Have mercy on us good Lord, 

that we learn to do your will.

Speak out for the voiceless and rescue the oppressed.

Refugees languish unreported in North Sudan and Yemen;

Afghan women wait at borders with no hope of rescue, 

and trafficked workers remain hidden out of sight.

“Thy will be done”?

Have mercy on us good Lord, 

that we learn to do your will.

Release the prisoner, heal the sick.

Activists are imprisoned, 

political opponents jailed, 

the disabled are trapped by lack of support, 

the mentally ill are left in limbo for lack of care.

“Thy will be done”?

Have mercy on us good Lord, 

that we learn to do your will.

Tend and protect the Earth; declare the year of the Lord’s favour.

Soils are degraded through overuse, 

waters are polluted with sewage and chemical spills;

temperatures rise and glaciers melt; 

industrial farming displaces forests; 

wildlife diminishes.

“Thy will be done”?

Have mercy on us good Lord, 

that we learn to do your will.

Lord whenever we pray as Jesus taught us, 

inspire us with the vision of how things could be on Earth just as jn Heaven. 

Challenge us to live according to your will. 

Embolden us with strength to make the  changes that are needed. 

Empower us with wisdom to speak the truth to power where your will is ignored. 

And enfold us in your loving compassion.

Amen. 

remind us that how things are is not ‘Thy will’ help us understand that we are called to 

Counting on … day 117

25th July 2025

Today I’d like to share the Joy in Enough confession as a good starting point for thinking about how we live sustainably within the Earth’s limits.

“Your earth is exploited, and we are complicit in its exploitation. Species are lost, soil erodes, fish stocks decline, resources dwindle. We confess that many of us have taken too much, and not considered the needs of future generations.” 

For the full confession see https://joyinenough.org/2019/01/29/the-joy-in-enough-confession/