Category: Counting On …

Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on

Counting on … day 378

14th November 2022

One of the agenda items today at COP27 is the issue of gender discrimination.


There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28 

We pray for all the participants,

the decision-makers and the protestors,

the bureaucrats and the prayerful,

influencers and bankers,

for producers and consumers, 

for girls and women, boys and men, 

transgender and non binary, gay and lesbian,

and those who would rather be free of labels.

May we care for and cherish each other,

supporting, enabling and encouraging all 

to cope with the challenges 

and opportunities of climate change.

Loving and patient God,

may your will be done.

All: Amen.

Love and cherish not some of the earth but all; 

Not just your back yard, but mine too;

Not just your local wood but the rainforests too;

Not just your home town but the favelas too.


Love and cherish not some creatures but all;

Not just pandas and tigers, but the vulture and bat too;

Not just bees but wasps and spiders too;

Not just elephants but slugs and snails too.


Love and cherish not some landscapes but all;

Not just meadows but peat bogs too;

Not just ancient woodlands but hedgerows too

Not just national parks but grass verges too.


Love and cherish not some people but all;

Not just city bankers but street cleaners too;

Not just business leaders but refugees too;

Not just home owners but travellers too.


For if we do not, we are all diminished.

If we do not we shall all suffer

from droughts and floods,

rising sea levels and declining water supplies,

from infectious diseases and resistant bacteria. 


We are one world, one family,

one eco system, one interdependent 

and interwoven creation. 

God, our creator, redeemer and sustainer,

Bring us to our senses! 

Now!

Counting on … day 377 

13th November 2022

Yesterday I joined several thousand witnesses for the Climate Coalition march through London on what was the midpoint of COP27. Someone commented that imagined they would taking part in this march every year for the rest of their life. Certainly I imagine the COPs will happen each year until at least 2050 when we will hopefully hit net zero. 

As you see from my banner, this was its second outing!

Counting on… day 376

12th November 2022

At COP27 it is Adaptation and Agriculture Day.

We stand at a tipping point, O God,

teetering between life and death:

Shall we fall or rise?

“Chose life!” 

Shall we retreat into our shells, bury our heads in the sand:

Or shall we step forth into a new age of sustainability?

“Chose life!”

Shall we ignore the science, hide ourselves in the trappings of consumerism:

Or shall we openly embrace renewable lifestyles?

“Chose life!”

Shall we pointlessly mourn the loss of polar bears and elephants, bees and butterflies:

Or shall we live our lives so that all may live?

“Chose life!”

Shall we fly to the ends of the earth while ice sheets melt:

Or value the future by enjoying what is local?

“Chose life!”

Shall we disregard floods and droughts, storms and heat waves, as seasonal blips:

Or acknowledge them as already-present signs of climate change?

“Chose life!”

Shall we close our ears to cries of help from farmers and islanders as their lands disappear:

Or shall we join voices in calling for justice?

“Chose life!”

Holy God,

Prompt us and urge us, encourage and propel us,

to now change our life styles so that all may have life and live!

Amen.

Counting on … day 374

10th November 2022

At COP27 it is Science Day plus a special focus on future generations – what kind of world are we preparing for them?

If we are called us to beat swords into plough shares,  

we are also called to turn military jobs into green ones.

If we seek to establish peace,

we must generously offer both love and practical gifts. 

If we shift from passive to active travel, from cars to cycles,

we shall need cycle paths and secure shelters.

If we replace petrol engines with electric motors, 

we must also turn petrol stations into recharging points.

If we swop meats for a vegan diet, 

we must also turn beef farms into arable farms,

sheep fells into woodlands,

dairies into nut fromageries.

If we switch to green electricity,

our pension funds must invest in renewable energy.

If we green our pensions, 

surely we will green our banks too.

Creator God, help us to see the changes we must make,

Give us the wisdom to support them, 

the energy to achieve them 

and the joy to celebrate them.

Amen.

Counting on… day 375

11th November 2022

On the agenda at COP27 today is the subject of decarbonisation. Today’s Guardian reports “Carbon emissions from fossil fuels will hit record levels this year, according to a comprehensive analysis. The finding represents a brutal contrast with the need to cut emissions by half by 2030 to restrict global heating to 1.5C and avoid the most devastating impacts of the climate crisis. The analysis by the Global Carbon Project (GCP) uses multiple streams of data from the year to date to estimate emissions for 2022. It found fossil fuel related CO2 is on course to rise by 1% to 36.6bn tonnes, the highest ever. More burning of oil products is the biggest contributor, mostly because of the continuing rebound of international aviation after the pandemic.”

How long O Lord? 

How  many heat waves?

How many droughts?

How many floods?

How many lost coast lines?

How many before we admit our error?

Before we recognise the crisis?

How many lost penguins?

How many missing polar bears?

How many extinct butterflies?

How many disappearing swifts?

How many before we admit our error?

Before we recognise the crisis?

How many car journeys?

How many air miles? 

How many beef steaks?

How many tonnes of cement?

How many before we admit our error?

Before we recognise the crisis.

Creator God, we admit our error

and recognise the crises we have caused. 

Grant us the wisdom and determination to make amends:

To change the way we live,

To change the way we see things,

To have care for the future.

Amen.

Counting on … day 373

9th November 2022 

“Germany wants to help Kenya get from 90% renewables to 100%, its BMZ development ministry says. The two countries have announced a partnership at Cop27, with the details to be fleshed out in December. After Kenya’s power needs are met, it can use the electricity to make green hydrogen, BMZ said. ” Climate Home News

On the agenda today at COP27 is finance. Money is crucial if the world is to shift to a net zero economy.

We pray for all the participants,

the decision-makers and the protestors,

the bureaucrats and the prayerful.

May they have the courage 

and the humility to make right decisions.

May they look beyond the short term 

to the long term well being of life on earth. 

May they seek a climate solidarity pact 

not a collective suicide pact.*

May they recognise in each other 

their own brothers and sisters. 

May they understand the importance 

of a family that stays together.

Loving and patient God,

may your will be done.

Amen.

* UN Secretary General Antonio Guterre

Counting on … day 372

8th November 2022 

https://www.greenstories.org.uk/anthology-for-cop27/cop27-attendees/monday-7th-november/ This website has specially written stories that envisage who the future world  could be. Fictional but hopeful.

Prayer for COP27

Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. Deuteronomy 11: 19-22

We pray for all the participants,

the decision-makers and the protestors,

the bureaucrats and the prayerful,

influencers and bankers,

for producers and consumers.

May the agreements and the pledges that are made this week

bring justice and confidence,

safety and security for all.

May they seek solidarity and cooperation above all else.

May all that is pledged, be honoured and enacted 

for the wellbeing of our world and our futures.

Loving and patient God,

may your will be done.

All: Amen. 

Counting on … day 371

7th November 2022 – Prayers for COP27

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. James 1:19

.

We pray for the participants of COP27, 

the decision-makers and the protestors,

the bureaucrats and the prayerful.

May they be gifted with empathy, 

with patience and with determination

and with a passion for justice.

May they be good listeners and considered speakers.

May they be guided by science rather than politics,

by the collective needs of the world rather than short term self interest.

Loving and patient God,

may your will be done.

Amen.

Counting on … day 371

6th November 2022

For the next 12 days as COP27 takes place, ‘Counting on’ will host a daily prayer. The first comes from Cafod. 

God of blessings, 
the universe sings of your glory. 
Deepen our gratitude for all you have made 
and awaken in us a renewed commitment 
to care for the earth and each other. 

Inspire world leaders at COP27, 
with openness to listen to those most affected by climate change 
and with courage to act urgently and wisely, 
so that our common home may be healed and restored  
and all people, and generations to come, may delight in it. 

Amen.  

Counting on … day 370 

5th November 2022

Unconventional but try getting rid of your waste bins – repurpose them? – and use it as a challenge to only buy and/or use things that can be recycled or reused. It may take a little practice and a bit of research – and as a last resort you will have you dustbin. You may well find that the net result is less in your recycling bins too.

Green Christian’s blog has an item on the 7Rs – Rejoice, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Rent, borrow and share, Recycle – https://greenchristian.org.uk/the-seven-rs/