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.

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 Action 30: Make a bug hotel. Insects and other mini beasts in our gardens do need places of shelter, places to rest and, come with winter, places to, hibernate.  Without human intervention/ obstruction these small creatures would seek shelter in nocks and crannies offered by dead plants, the bark of trees, fallen deadwood etc. Much of environment lacks such places partly because we tend to keep things tidy and all surfaces clear of obstruction. We can compensate by purposefully creating insect-friendly spaces: eg by not cutting back and clearing dead plants, and/or by building bug hotels. The RSPB and other environmental charities have instructions for these:

https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/nature-on-your-doorstep/garden-activities/build-a-bug-hotel/

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Action 29: Plan next year’s holiday? Since air travel comes with a  disproportionate carbon footprint, why not see where you might go travelling by train: Berlin? Moscow? Venice? The Alps? The Fiords? Or maybe closer to home: Tenby? St Ives? Scarborough? Brighton? Fort William? Windermere? Maybe plan a grand railway tour. 

Green Tau Reflection

Life choices that bring blessings 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;  and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. Matthew 5:38-42

The above comes from the Beatitudes: Jesus’s teaching to the crowds on the approach to life that would bring its own blessings. 

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth sounds very mercenary. A contractual arrangement in which neither side looses out. A fair’s fair deal that leaves no space for argument not for generosity. It has the feel of a fixed price market. Anyone who tried to pay more than the asking price would be a fool. Yet Jesus invites the listener to be that fool. To pay more than the asking price. To give more that is required or demanded. To act in a way that undermines the normal way of doing business. It is a radical counter-cultural way of being that will bring its own blessings.

In the world of the climate crisis, old ways of doing things will have to change, old traditions and  old  norms will be replaced by new ways. Heating homes with gas will be history; the supermarket run in the car and the lift to school will disappear; holidays won’t start at the airport; strawberries will be a treat for the summer not Christmas.

Change like this can be hard to accept. After a life time in which cars have become the default means of transport, it is hard to rethink in terms of walking times. After a life time in which air travel has become part and parcel of the holiday package, it is hard to rethink in terms of trains and local destinations. After a life time in which seasonal food describes food linked to sporting/ social events, it is hard to re shape our eating round a annual cycle of what is currently in peak production: raspberries in June, plums in August, avocados in February. 

Change can be expensive as new practices, new products are scaled up and developed. The bonus of economies of scale take time to kick in, the benefits of lower energy bills will be felt gradually over the years whilst the initial cost of new equipment – heaters, electric cars, solar panels – may be steep.  

Following Jesus’s teaching, we can become trend setters, living a new lifestyle, adopting ways that will curb GHG emissions and restrain the climate crisis. We can lead by example and do things that are not the norm, that are not (yet) fashionable. We can choose to walk or cycle that bit further than usual rather than going by car. We can refuse to buy the plastic wrapped fruit or sandwich. We can explore the UK rather than the world. We can decline avocados in summer and strawberries in winter. 

Those of us with money can invest in carbon neutral technology, we can buy the eco friendly products and services, and we can do so generously, supporting producers as well as the climate. Train travel can be more expensive that going by car or plane, but we can choose the climate friendly option. Organic food may be more costly – now – but we can choose it over cheaper products that are less environmentally friendly.

Jesus asks that when we choose how to live, that we choose to think of the needs of others and be ready to meet their needs first. The results? A transformed world!

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 Action 27: Do a survey of your dustbin. What are you throwing out? Could any of it be recycled, repaired or reused? Do some of the things that you buy come with too much pack again? Could you shop differently? What would it take to half the amount of rubbish you produce each week? What would it take to reduce it to zero? 

Questioning our smallness

Loving God, we strive to follow your ways of righteousness and justice in the world.

Yet we feel small and inept, and lay before you our dilemma.

Will you stand by if humanity continues to ignore your ways, following a path instead that leads to self destruction?

Will you stand by if 5000 choose not to follow the crowd? For the sake of the few, will you protect us all from self destruction?

Lord have mercy.

But loving God, Will you stand by if only 500 choose not to follow the crowd? For the sake of the few, will you protect us all from self destruction?

Lord have mercy.

But loving God, Will you stand by if only 50 choose not to follow the crowd? For the sake of the few, will you protect us all from self destruction?

Lord have mercy.

Loving God, strengthen our resolve to do what is right, to stand up for the marginalised, to safeguard creation and protect life, even when we feel small and ineffective. 

Give us the confidence to share our concerns and our hopes for the planet, so that we can encourage and welcome others to follow the path of righteousness and justice.

Amen.

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Action 26: Last week’s IPCC report issued  us a code red  warning: if we do not act now and act with sufficient magnitude, we will not be able to avert the  already escalating climate emergency. Britain as the host nation of the COP26 conference in Glasgow should be leading the way putting in place not only strategies but actions too to ensure we achieve, nationally and globally, the 2050 net zero emissions target. Write to Alok Sharma the appointed President for COP26, and ask what is happening.

Eco Tips: Packaging

Become savvy.
Give packaging a long, hard look.
Is it necessary? Is it recyclable? Is there an alternative? Can you take your own packaging – be that a shopping basket, cloth bag or box?

There is little  – if anything – that we consume that does not have a carbon footprint which is why when we seek to reduce our carbon footprint, we should be reviewing everything that we consume. And that includes the packaging. Whether what you buy comes in a plastic bag or a paper one, whether it comes in a plastic tray or a cardboard punnet, whether it comes in a plastic bottle or a glass jar, whether it is wrapped in tissue paper or bubble wrap – that packaging will have a carbon footprint. If the packaging is excessive or simply unnecessary,  then we increase our carbon footprint with no gain or merit. Our aim should be to avoid unnecessary packaging and where packing is needed, to seek out packing that can  – and will be – recycled. 

Packaging Scenarios 

1. Some packaging is necessary: imagine taking home a pint of milk with no packaging! Milk is usually sold in plastic or glass or tetra-pacs containers – and in fact all these can be recycled (although the loop for tetra-pacs is not yet fully closed), whilst glass milk bottles can be reused some 60 to 70 times before being recycled. 

2. But some packaging is not. Do apples need to come in plastic bags (even if they are a compostable plastic substitute)? Loose fruit and vegetables can simply be picked up, weighed and popped into you own shopping bag/ basket.  

3. For some items such as strawberries and raspberries,  the packing prevents the items becoming damaged and potentially inedible . The carbon footprint of the packing may outweigh the carbon footprint of wasted food. Punnets are often made of PET plastic which can be fully recycled into a new punnet but the film on top is not so readily recycled –  the Co op has just introduced a recycling scheme which accepts all scrunchable plastics. 

4. Some packaging is excessive! Biscuits that come in a plastic tray inside a plastic sleeve, inside a cardboard box …. Refusing to buy such items  is the best response – and can feeling very satisfying. You might instead make you own ‘up-market’ biscuits with zero packaging

5. Some packaging cannot be recycled such as polystyrene or, in the case of black plastic, is routinely incinerated/ sent to landfill because the recycling machinery finds black hard to detect! 

6. But if fruit and vegetables can be bought packaging free, what about other things such as pasta or dried fruit? Soap or washing up liquid? There is a growing number of refill stores where customers can buy loose goods, decanting what they want into either their own reusable jar or  container, or into a paper bag.  


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Action 25. Try out a new vegan recipe or have a go at this recipe for vegan pesto.

Vegan Pesto

In a food processor grind 50g of almonds till coarsely chopped.

Add to the processor 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, the juice of 2 lemons and 100ml of olive oil.  

Add 500ml of green leaves such as rocket, nasturtium leaves or basil – or a mix of such peppery tasting leaves. (If the leaves are torn into smaller pieces it will enable the mixture to process more easily).

Blitz everything until it is a thick paste. 

You can add more oil and lemon juice if you want a slacker paste. 

If you are not using the pesto immediately, store in a covered jar in the fridge.

Sunday Reflection

15th August 2021

Readings for proper 15: Proverbs 9:1-6, Psalm 34:9-14, Ephesians 5:15-20, John 6:51-58

Today’s readings begin with a description from Proverbs of the house built be Wisdom. Wisdom is personified here as a woman. The Hebrew word chokmoth is feminine as is the Greek word sophia and the Latin word sapientia. Perhaps then it is not surprising that wisdom is seen as a woman. Her house is a grand, or maybe a perfect, place, having seven pillars. We aren’t told how these seven pillars are arranged, maybe in a circle? Seven is an important number in Hebrew suggesting completeness, eg as in the work of God being completed in seven days. It is a place of learning for those whose minds are simple – unencumbered, open minded, free from complicated superstitions or beliefs. Free too from feelings of self aggrandisement or superiority. For these people Wisdom offers a place to stay – to rest and/or live, to learn and/or worship – and a place where food and drink is served: nourishment that may be a metaphor for knowledge and learning. It is a house where those who enter are enabled to move from immaturity to maturity. It is a  place to gain insight and thus, life. 

Today’s psalm is also exploring the idea of being shaped by God’s wisdom. The word translated as fear, as in fear of God, can also have the meaning of being in awe, and indeed fear and awe can be experienced as similar. Such awe is gained through being open and child-like and of being metaphorically fed. In this way it reflects the idea from Proverbs of wisdom and openness and of being fed. It makes explicit the importance of seeking God, of wanting to be fed, of seeking peace and prosperity (for which we might read well-being if for us ‘prosperity’ implies a focus on ill gotten gains or greed). It is also clear that seeking God, seeking wisdom or the right way of living, is about choosing between doing evil and doing good. 

True wisdom is living with God, following God’s ways. 

The letter to the Ephesians is also giving advice as how to live wisely. Again it is about understanding the will of God and following that rather than the ways of debauchery. Here the source of instruction or inspiration is the Spirit – the breath that comes from God – which arouses in us joy and song and thanksgiving. 

The passage from John’s gospel is part of the long and slowly unfolding exposition on Jesus as the bread of life. One feels the writer is increasingly bogged down with understanding this as being both a physical and a spiritual experience. Perhaps it would help us to think of ways in which we use food and drink as metaphors. We may use the phrase ‘it is meat and drink to me’ to described the pleasure or support something gives us. Or we may talked about an activity as ‘being all consuming’ to describe how it takes over our lives again giving us joy and/or  fulfilment. In the same way seeking out, or living in relationship with, Jesus – and through Jesus with God – might be described using either or both of these phrases. And yet neither would fully describe our experience of knowing and of being known by, Jesus. Perhaps as suggested in Proverbs, it is easier to gain wisdom by being simple minded.