18th September 2025
I subscribed to the Ethical Consumer monthly email which this month focuses on repair and reuse. At their prompting , can I recommend signing up for this useful newsletter too?
Category: Uncategorized
Counting on … day 146
18th September 2025
Introducing alternative ways of managing our economies will require a high degree of political will – and especially the willingness to shift from short term (before the next election) to long term goals.
One organisation that has done research on how this can be achieved is Nesta (a UK innovation agency for social good).
“Why long-termism doesn’t often happen…Part of the problem is that so much of our system of government pushes in the opposite direction. Decision makers get stuck in “firefighting traps”, a symptom of which includes focusing on the urgent instead of the important.
“Rather than simply indulge in well-intentioned hand waving about the need for greater long-termism in government, we need practical ways of encouraging future thinking that are hardwired into the system. Fortunately across the globe there are pockets of government innovation where we can find just that.”(1)
Do read the full article. And ask questions when we next have elections – how will the candidate/ party ensure better long term planning to ensure intergenerational justice?
Counting on … day 145
17th September 2025
Intergenerational justice asks us to embrace “the interconnectedness of all things, the recognition of the inherent value of nature and its interdependence with the human world.” (1) Such insights are not new – in 1624 Donne wrote ‘no man is an island’ and in1224 St Francis wrote about all creation as being our brothers and sisters. Rather is seems as if it is our industrial world, our market economy, that has separated our activities into discrete silos. Traditionally economic theory only considered demand and supply of a product and not its impact on society (for good or ill) nor any damage it may cause in terms of pollution or diminishing future supplies. Indeed as regards the latter, a diminishing supply can in fact boost profits for the supplier!
The free market economic model does not protect future generations – it is not even capable of caring for present generations. We need alternative approaches to manage our economies – such as Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics (2) (More on this next week).
(1) https://gceurope.org/intergenerational-justice-or-how-to-be-a-good-ancestor/
Counting on … day 144
16th September 2025
Intergenerational justice as described by the United Nations, is grounded in the idea that the “pursuit of welfare by the current generation should not diminish opportunities for a good and decent life for succeeding generations”. For example if a group of islanders cut down all the trees on their island such that none remained for their children to enjoy, that would constitute an intergenerational injustice. (1)
More pertinently in terms of the climate, if the lifestyle of one generation through the burning of fossil fuels, means that their children have to live with unfriendly climatic conditions, then the behaviour of the earlier generation has been unjust vis a vis the subsequent generation. Equally, if one generation farms the land such that its feeds that generation but so damages the soil that it can not provide food for the next, then that too is an instance of intergenerational injustice.
Intergenerational justice asks us to think and act beyond the short term and consider the long term – that of subsequent generations – to ensure that both present and future generations can live on a healthy planet: “Intergenerational justice states that the rights of past, present and future generations to live on a healthy planet are equal. Nothing future generations will do will affect the present, but everything that happens now will affect the future. In this sense, intergenerational justice requires a radical mindset change that considers the long-term impact of today’s choices and actions, instead of focusing on short-term gains.” (2)
We are called to be good ancestors now!
Counting on … day 143
15th September 2025
Climate inequalities don’t have to be accepted. Change is possible. Friends of the Earth have produced a report entitles the Big Climate Plan detailing what could be done in the UK to address climate inequalities. (1) And they have produced another report showing how the costs could be met by taxing those causing the climate crisis (2)
“The “polluter pays” principle is the idea that those most responsible for emissions and pollution should pay the most towards tackling them. The “polluter pays” principle is the idea that those most responsible for emissions and pollution should pay the most towards tackling them.“
(1) https://cdn.friendsoftheearth.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/Fairness Report_Friends_of_the_Earth_Digital.pdf
(2) https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/taxing-polluters-pay-climate-action
Proper 19, 13th Sunday after Trinity
14th September 2025
Reflection with readings below
Jeremiah’s message was clear: God’s people needed to know how to do good not evil. For when their behaviour was evil, their fruitful land would become a barren desolation. Prophets don’t so much predict the future, as spell out the consequences of different course of behaviour, highlighting what may happen when the wrong course of action is taken – and this is seldom a message people want to hear. The calling of a prophet was – and is – not easy. No one likes being told they’ve got it wrong. Jeremiah was always outspoken in his role as a prophet – regardless of the consequence for his own safety. He ended up being put down an empty well as well as being taken against his will to Egypt.
Jeremiah’s words and actions however came from his deep closeness to God and his knowledge of God’s wisdom. This wisdom revealed to Jeremiah that when people lived in opposition to God’s will, in opposition to the ways in which the Earth – God’s creation – worked, the results would be suffering and disaster.
When we read the words of other prophets such as Isaiah (whose words are expounded in this year theme for the Season of Creation – Peace with Creation – Isaiah 32:14-18) we find the same message: when we humans do not engage with God’s wisdom, when we do not pursue justice, when we do not live in harmony with the world God has created, then suffering and disaster ensues.
For decades now, we humans have been ignoring the consequences of burning ever greater quantities of fossil fuels. We have turned a blind eye to the unjust systems that mean the poorest suffer the most. We have failed understand that the Earth can not provide a limitless supply of resources to meet our growing appetite for more and more luxuries. If Jeremiah or Isaiah were here today they would be shouting out from the rooftops, calling us to repent and transform the way we live. They would be disrupting our lives with prophetic actions. They would be challenging the systems of rule and money that perpetuate the disregard for God and planet.
This week Christian Climate Action launched a document entitled ‘Stop Crucifying Creation’ which calls on the Church to take up that same prophetic role exercised by Jeremiah and Isaiah. In response to the accelerating climate crisis and the growing inequalities between rich and poor – both within and between nations – the Church is being called upon to use its corporate position to speak about the truth of these crises, to challenge those in positions of power who are aiding the unfolding suffering and disaster – governments and corporations. The Church is also being called to renew the vision of the early church which sought to nurture loving, caring and sharing communities.
Loving, caring and sharing communities have to be places where everyone is included and valued. In today’s gospel story, the Pharisees want to draw a distinction between themselves and those others who were tax collectors and sinners. So Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep – and then of the lost coin. In each case, the one that is lost is not indistinguishable from the others: the one hundred are all sheep and all to be cared for; the ten coins are all coins to be equally valued. Jesus’s message is a reminder not to ‘other’ the person – or community – that we perceive as not being ‘PLU’s. For those of who are climate activists, we need to remember that fossil fuel directors, insurance brokers and investment bankers are just as important in God’s eyes – not because of what they do but because of who they are: children of God. Indeed as the epistle writer tells us, it is the grace of Jesus that should overflow through us with faith and love.
And it is the message of the prophets and the psalmists that God does seek out and care for those who have gone astray so that all may flourish.
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28a
At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: A hot wind comes from me out of the bare heights in the desert toward my poor people, not to winnow or cleanse– a wind too strong for that. Now it is I who speak in judgment against them.
“For my people are foolish,
they do not know me;
they are stupid children,
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil,
but do not know how to do good.”
I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void;
and to the heavens, and they had no light.
I looked on the mountains, and lo, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.
I looked, and lo, there was no one at all,
and all the birds of the air had fled.
I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.
For thus says the Lord: The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.
Because of this the earth shall mourn,
and the heavens above grow black;
for I have spoken, I have purposed;
I have not relented nor will I turn back.
Psalm 14
1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” *
All are corrupt and commit abominable acts;
there is none who does any good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven upon us all, *
to see if there is any who is wise,
if there is one who seeks after God.
3 Every one has proved faithless;
all alike have turned bad; *
there is none who does good; no, not one.
4 Have they no knowledge, all those evildoers *
who eat up my people like bread
and do not call upon the Lord?
5 See how they tremble with fear, *
because God is in the company of the righteous.
6 Their aim is to confound the plans of the afflicted, *
but the Lord is their refuge.
7 Oh, that Israel’s deliverance would come out of Zion! *
when the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad.
1 Timothy 1:12-17
I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners– of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luke 15:1-10
All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, `Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, `Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
I am the Good Shepherd
13th September 2025
‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 34:31
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 John 10:11-15
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
A response:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
In your gift is daily bread, sustenance for each day
From you comes wisdom and understanding –
the gift of peace.
The Lord desires green pasture and clear waters,
wooded hills that clap their hands,
streams that overflow with joy –
a world where all may rest in peace.
The Lord restores my soul,
forgives my sins and heals my pain.
He renews my confidence so I too
may renew broken relationships.
The Lord leads me in right paths.
He goes before us, leading by example
and marking the way –
on earth as in heaven.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
even though the news is of floods and drought,
fires and tempest, I am comforted
for the Lord is my steadfast companion.
I hear of evil – of warfare and greed,
of persecution and oppression;
of self-interest and self-delusion
– yet I fear not evil, for the Lord is our righteousness.
You prepare a table before me
where bread and wine will satisfy my wants.
In the face of adversity,
You anoint me with the Holy Spirit.
The goodness and mercy of the Lord
shall stay with me all the days of my life,
for the Lord is my shepherd
and I shall not want.
Prayer:
Sovereign God, Shepherd of your people:
When we walk along pilgrim ways,
You lead us and we thank you.
When we sing and pray for your guidance,
You are with us and we thank you.
When we stand alongside our brothers and sisters,
You are with us and we thank you.
When we call on those in authority to take action,
You inspire us and we thank you.
As the days unfold, keep within us the hope of change.
Soften the hearts of those in authority
in industry, in government and in the churches,
that all may respond to the cry of the earth
and the cry of the poor.
Amen.
The Grace
Counting on … day 142
12th September 2025
The inequalities exposed by the climate crisis are also feeding growing health inequalities. And health inequalities increase wealth inequalities.
“A new [2023] report from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reveal[ed] that the health impacts of climate change will be disproportionately felt by disadvantaged communities, significantly exacerbating existing health inequalities. The findings show that vulnerable groups – including people with disabilities, homeless populations, and those in deprived areas – will bear the brunt of extreme weather like heat waves and floods, which are becoming more common due to greenhouse gas emissions. This amplifies existing disparities, where those in poverty already have lower life expectancy.” (1)
The report does highlight that prompt intervention to tackle the issues of the climate crisis could simultaneously improve health outcomes for the most vulnerable. For example
* insulating homes addresses climate change by reducing carbon emissions whilst at the same time providing healthier homes because they will be both warmer and less prone to mould.
- transitioning to smaller, electric vehicles – with an increase on good public transport – reduces both carbon emissions and air pollution so improving health outcomes.
- if more journeys switched from cars to cycles, the improvements in health would be significant.
- If more trees were planted and green spaces secured, more carbon emissions would be absorbed and more rainfall would be absorbed, whilst improving the mental and physical health of nearby residents and workers
- Transitioning to a largely plant based diet, would reduce carbon emissions from livestock farming and release land for rewilding, and at the same time improve healthy eating.
See also –
Counting on … day 141
11th September 2025
The inequalities around wealth and income mean that poorer people tend to live in areas with limited access to green spaces – which are beneficial for health and wellbeing as well for cooler ambient temperatures and absorbing rain – and are less likely to live in those tree-lined streets which similarly alleviate high temperatures and the risks of flooding.
For more information –
Counting on … day 140
10th September 2025
The inequalities around the wealth/ income and the climate crisis around that mean the poorest are more significant impacted by adverse weather conditions.
People with low incomes/ wealth cannot afford to install double glazing or home insulation so when temperatures are uncomfortably hot or cold, they cannot protect themselves. Many live in small badly designed homes that do not allow for a through flow of air during hot weather and equally may have large glass windows allowing in excessive amounts of heat in the summer and cold in the winter. Often these properties may be rented meaning that occupants have to rely on landlords to instal climate adaptions – and then still incur the – possibly unaffordable – costs through increased rents and service charges.
People with low incomes/ wealth cannot afford the upfront capital cost of installing energy – and therefore cost-saving – systems such as heat pumps and solar panels, again meaning that they are continually disadvantaged.
The Green Tau 