Category: Counting On …

Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on

Counting on … day 3

3rd January 2025

For the last few years January has become Veganuary – a month in which to enjoy good food that is good for the planet and good for social justice. If we are all ate less meat we would have no problem growing enough food to feel the world’s growing population, we could restore vast tracts of land for nature and reduce greenhouse gas emissions! 

Eating less meat is about eating more beans and pulses, nuts and seasonal vegetables. It is about switching from dairy to plant milk and dairy butter to plant butter. It is about enjoying a great richness and variety of flavours – herbs and spices, nuts and seeds, fruits and juices.

Here is an encouraging article from the Guardian – https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/01/meera-sodha-veganuary?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

And suggestions for how to ease your way into plant based eating – https://greentau.org/2021/10/12/eco-tips-11/

Counting on… day 2

2nd January 2025

Today is the Feast of St Basil the Great and St Gregory of Nazianzus both of whom were bishops and teachers of the faith. It is also the feast day of Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah, a 20th century bishop in South India, which is a reminder that saints and holy people are not just from the ‘old days’. All three  remind us that as a Church – as Christ in the world – we have a role to play in providing leadership and pastoral care and in teaching – and this must embrace our relationship with the environment, with all our brothers and sisters, with the whole world so loved by God.

Counting on … day 1

1st January 2025

Today is the Feast of the Circumcision – or Naming –  of Christ. The name given in the Gospels as Jesus is a transliteration of Joshua. Jesus comes from the Latin Iesus (pronounced as three syllables) or the Greek,  Iesous – and both are transliterations of the Hebrew name Yeshua or Yoshua, or the older name of  Yehoshu’a – from which we derived the name Joshua as used in the Old Testament. The Hebrew name means ‘Yahweh saves’.

Our salvation does indeed come from, and start with, God. 

Counting on – day 229

31st New Year’s Eve 

Many church denominations hold a Watchnight Service on New Year’s Eve – a service of several hours with time to reflect on the past year and to pray in confidence for the year to come. 

The Methodist has a Covenant Prayer used to renew one’s commitment to God. This is done on as part of a community of individuals – . But it comes not as our first step to God but as our response to the first step already made by God. For God is already committed to us – “I will be their God and they shall be my people” – and indeed through Jesus Christ offers us a guide and example as to how we can best share in that relationship with God.

https://www.methodist.org.uk/about/what-is-distinctive-about-methodism/the-covenant-service/

Counting on … day 228

30th December 2024

For many people today may be their first day back at work after the Christmas break. This could be a day to give thanks for all whose work makes our lives easier or more fulfilling. In practical terms we might consider how many receive the real living wage and how many have job security, sick pay and guaranteed holidays.

The Living Wage Foundation – https://www.livingwage.org.uk/ – has information about the real living wage in the UK and lists employers who pay that rate as a minimum. They also campaign on terms and conditions including ensuring enough hours to make a living – https://www.livingwage.org.uk/living-hours

Counting on … day 227

27th December 2024

Today is the feast day of St John. There are quite a few St Johns but this one is the St John who in John’s Gospel is described  as the Beloved Disciple.  He is the one sitting next to Jesus at the Last Supper, and he is the one at the foot of the cross when Jesus says, ‘Mother, behold your son, son behold your mother.’

In many ways in John’s Gospel, Mary represents Mother Church and John represents the loving disciple. Today is a day for giving thanks for the example of John as an example of a loving disciple and of the primacy of creating community.

Counting on … day 226

26th December 2024
The days after Christmas Day itself are full of feast days -bitter and sweet.

26th December is the feast day of St Stephen. As the first martyr to die for his faith, he was given the feast day closest to Christmas. The word martyr originally in Greek had the meaning of witness – someone who witnesses to the truth, who stays constant in that faithful believe. Our modern world has many martyrs – those who have remained faithful to the truth even when their freedom or even their lives are at risk. To remain faithful is to be a protest against those who deny the truth.

Today even here in the UK there are people in prison for standing up for the truth that the climate crisis is an existential threat and not one to be swept under the proverbial carpet.

for more information on this topic: https://defendourjuries.org/

https://juststopoil.org/court-prison/

Counting on … day 225

29th November 2024

Today is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

“In 1977, the General Assembly called for the annual observance of 29 November as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (resolution 32/40 B). On that day, in 1947, the Assembly adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine (resolution 181 (II)) In resolution 60/37 of 1 December 2005, the Assembly requested the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Division for Palestinian Rights, as part of the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on 29 November, to continue to organise an annual exhibit on Palestinian rights or a cultural event in cooperation with the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the UN.”(1)

This year’s exhibition is entitled  “Gaza, Palestine: A Crisis of Our Humanity”  and is displayed in the Visitors’ Lobby of the UN’s General Assembly Building. 

Most of us won’t get to see the exhibition! But the UK’s Palestinian Solidarity Campaign has invited us all to display a poster of solidarity(2).

Just imagine if every single house in every street displayed this poster! Wouldn’t that be an impactful exhibition of solidarity!!

(1) https://www.un.org/en/observances/International-day-of-solidarity-with-the-palestinian-people

(2) https://palestinecampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/Solidarity-with-Palestine-Poster.jpg

Counting on … day 224

28th  November 2024

This is the week of Black Friday, followed by Cyber Monday. Are these the Feast Days of the Consumerist faith? Are they not something that we should be challenging as they encourage people to spend money on things they don’t need and further deplete our limited world resources? 

Here is an informative piece from the Ethical Consumer.

https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/retailers/boycott-black-friday-cyber-monday?utm_source=ECRA+Monthly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e4367a24f5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_11_22_blackfri_subs&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-a4394a8255-320424697