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Mothering Sunday

10th March 2024

Reflection- readings follow on below

It is surprising how often you can hear the same story and then suddenly hear something new in it.

The story of Moses in the bulrushes has so many themes – persecution, fear, ingenuity, circumstance, rescue, joy, even resurrection. Although it is a reading that appears as an option each year for Mothering Sunday, it is a story that has a particular resonance this year, as we think of the babies that mothers are trying to protect in Gaza.

At Christmas the Lutheran pastor for Bethlehem created a crib scene in which the Christ Child lay surrounded by rubble. That could so easily become the setting for retelling the story of baby Moses. We can, perhaps – but probably with difficulty – imagine how the families of new born babies in Gaza are feeling, the desperation as they try to find amongst the shattered neighbourhoods the wherewithal a baby needs, but above all their fear of not being able to protect their child, to keep their child safe from harm.

What stands out this year in reading the story again, is the idea of teamwork. Looking after, protecting, safeguarding the baby Moses, is an act of teamwork. There is his birth mother, his sister, and the pharaoh’s daughter. Each has a different role to play, and each is essential in the overall success of the story. They all three bring the gifts of compassion, determination and care.

There is an African proverb that says it takes a village to raise a child. Within that village there are different people with different skills, all of which are essential in caring for and nurturing and protecting that community’s children. Within the village will be people who grow food, and those who prepare meals. There will be those who teach with words, and those who teach by example. There will be those who make clothes, craft toys, construct furniture. There will be those skilled in healing. There will those who encourage confidence and creativity. There will be those who console and teach forgiveness and resilience. And they will all give without ceasing the gifts of love and belonging.

Mothering Sunday is not really about little children giving mums a box of chocolates. It is a rather a celebration of communities that mother us. It is a celebration of the teamwork and the heartache, the compassion and the determination, that goes into raising not just one child but a generation of children.

I remember as a child one vicar each year explaining that Mothering Sunday was a celebration of Mother Church. I don’t recall being impressed but on reflection churches – ie those communities drawn together by their faith – should be communities of mothering. Communities characterised by teamwork and heartache, compassion and determination, generosity and love.

The words written to the congregation at Colossae are apt, describing how those chosen by God should live together in harmony as one body shaped by Christ – as both the peace that rules in our hearts and as the word that enriches us. Their newly formed community is mothered by Christ to become a family worthy of God the Father.

Increasingly as we look around and see the failings of our world – people reliant on food banks, the high incidence of mental ill health amongst young people, inadequate housing, long waiting lists for medical treatment, the threat of climate change to our ability to grow food, the loss of biodiversity, our failure to make our lifestyles sustainable – we need to revisit what it is to be a community, what it is to be a team that truly mothers all its children. To reflect again on the command that we should love our neighbour as ourself. To rethink what we mean when we speak of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit – is it just a handy phrase with which to end a service or does it have far more important purpose that describes how we live and work – and mother – together?

Can Christians, can churches, offer a better – maternal – way of being communities in the 21st century?

Exodus 2:1-10

Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.

The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’

Colossians 3:12-17

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Luke 2:33-35

And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

Lent – Prayers for creation

9th March 2024

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom like the crocus Isaiah 35:1

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: Isaiah 42: 5, 10-12

Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the end of the earth!
Let the sea roar and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their inhabitants.

Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice,
the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy,
let them shout from the tops of the mountains.

Let them give glory to the Lord,
and declare his praise in the coastlands.

Intercessions

We give thanks for the beauty and diversity of the world you have given us, for its colour and abundance, its richness and vitality.

Generous God, hear our prayer.

With sorrow, we acknowledge our part in damaging what you have created. We acknowledge that our lifestyles have been selfish and careless. We acknowledge that we could and can do more to tend this earth and care for its inhabitants.

Merciful God, hear our prayer.

We pray for these who conserve plant and animal wildlife, birds and insects. We pray for the work of agriculturalist and scientists in developing better, kinder ways of living on this earth. We pray for the resilience of small communities that they may continue to live in harmony with their environment.

Gracious God, hear our prayer.

We pray for government leaders and advisers, farmers and business leaders, that they will hold dear the needs of the environment and seek to avert the risks imposed by the climate crisis.

Enabling God, hear our prayer.

With grief we despair at our human capacity to make war not peace, to seek violence not reconciliation. Renew within us hearts that overflow with compassion and forgiveness that with your grace we may always seek peace.

Ever-patient God, hear our prayer.

The Grace

Counting on … day 61

7th March 2024

“The International Energy Agency Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation, established in 1974, that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the global energy sector. The 31 member countries and 13[1] association countries of the IEA represent 75% of global energy demand… The core activity of the IEA is providing policy advice to its member states and Associated countries to support their energy security and advance their transition to clean energy.[3] Recently, it has focused in particular on supporting global efforts to accelerate clean energy transition, mitigate climate change, reach net zero emissions, and prevent global temperatures from rising above 1.5 °C.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Energy_Agency)

It seems strange that the membership does not include any of the oil states from the Middle East, and very few African nations who surely have an equally vested interest in energy security.

Back in 2021, the IEA declared that the exploitation and development of new oil and gas fields must stop if the world was to stay within safe limits of global heating and meet the goal of net zero emissions by 2050. It is thus worrying that so many countries and so many companies have since then continued to grant licences and develop new oil and gas fields. The UK’s current government is even proposing to increase the frequency with which it issues new licenses!

This message was reinforce in 2023 when, having noted the strong growth in clean energy provision, the IEA reported that whilst there was no longer a need to maintain current investment levels in fossil fuels, investment in oil and gas was in fact twice what would be necessary to achieve net zero emissions targets. (https://origin.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2023)

On the plus side, the IEA’s report of March this year on clean energy, notes: “The deployment of solar PV, wind power, nuclear power, electric cars, and heat pumps from 2019 to 2023 avoids around 2.2 billion tonnes (Gt) of emissions annually. Without them, the increase in CO2 emissions globally over the same period would have been more than three times larger.” (https://www.iea.org/reports/clean-energy-market-monitor-march-2024

Counting on … day 62

8th March 2024

“Energy Efficiency improves when a given level of service is provided with reduced amounts of energy inputs or services are enhanced for a given amount of energy input.

“Energy Intensity is measured by the quantity of energy required per unit output or activity, so that using less energy to produce a product reduces the intensity.” (https://www.energy.gov/eere/analysis/energy-efficiency-vs-energy-intensity)

Improving energy efficiency has been one way of reducing carbon emissions. At the household level, this has – and is – through improving the insulation of our homes so we need use less energy to keep them warm; through using more energy efficient appliances (++A washing machines for example) and low energy light bulbs. Cars too have become more energy efficient over the decades so that petrol cars can achieve 60mpg in urban conditions whereas in the past those figures would have been in the low tens. However the benefits of improving energy efficiency has often be lost as manufacturers have geared up to make and sell bigger cars, more powerful domestic appliances, or more frequent upgrades encouraging replacement purchases.

Energy efficiency is only of value if it leads to less energy being used and less pollution emitted.

Green Tau: issue 89

6th March 2024

Drax and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Earlier this week I joined an action outside the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero protesting against government plans to continue to subsidise Drax power station. Two key groups campaign against the unsustainable and unethical functioning of this power station – and its smaller sister at Lynemouth. They are ‘Axe Drax’ and ‘Biofuel Watch’. I was invited to speak on behalf of Christian Action. This is what I said.

“As I come from a faith back ground and am part of Christian Climate Action, I thought I would reference one of the trees from the Bible – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We know we humans do not always make good choices, and it was probably not the best of choices that Adam and Eve made when they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of gold and evil.

But once you have the knowledge of good and evil, would you not be very foolish to to make choices that will cause evil?

If you knew the difference between good and evil when it comes to cutting down primary old- growth forests, would you be foolish enough to continue to cut down those trees? Foolish enough to destroy those ancient and biodiverse habitats? Foolish enough to destroy that long term effective carbon sink?

If you know the difference between good and evil when it comes to shipping products half way round the world, would you be foolish enough to burn shipping fuel just to transport tonnes of timber pellets from the west coast of Canada to the east coast of England just to so you could burn them?

If you knew the difference between good and evil when it comes to generating energy, would you be foolish enough to burn anything when you could alternatively use renewable energy from the sun and the wind and the tides?

And would you be foolish enough to do so at a price that diverts £6 billion of tax payers’ money into subsidising those carbon emissions?

And would you be still foolish enough to offer a further £2.5 billion a year of tax payers’ money to continue importing and burning the wood from those precious forests?

Come on Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, think again! Use some common sense!!”

“Drax Power Station, in North Yorkshire, burns 25 millions trees a year that are shipped in from across the world. In September 2022, it was revealed that Drax’s practices abroad are the cause of large scale environmental racism. Trees are condensed down to pellets in factories placed in predominantly Black communities in the global south. The process is so polluting, people are left struggling to breath and often trapped in their own homes. Drax presents itself as a world leader in using BECCS*, and is the worlds biggest burner of trees. They can only operate because of over £6billion in subsidies taken straight from our energy bills, supposedly for renewable energy.” (Axe Drax)

For more information on Drax and the campaign to end such power stations, see https://axedrax.uk/ and https://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/axedrax-campaign/

*Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage is the process of extracting bioenergy from biomass and capturing and storing the carbon, thereby removing it from the atmosphere https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioenergy_with_carbon_capture_and_storage

Counting on … day 60

6th March 2024

We can also look at carbon emissions by sector.

Not surprisingly energy is the biggest contributor. So much of the energy we use comes from fossil fuels – which all emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. And this energy is used in so many different situations – transport, heating or cooling buildings, lighting and cooking, industrial and manufacturing processes, communication etc.

More worryingly, carbon emissions from fossil fuels are still rising. The International Energy Agency Agency (IEA) reports that energy-related CO2 emissions were 36.3 Gt in 2021; 36.8 Gt in 2022; and 37.4 Gt in 2023. In each year the figure was reported as a new high! Until these emissions start to fall – and fall rapidly – humanity will not be able to avert a worsening climate crisis.

For more information see – https://ourworldindata.org/ghg-emissions-by-sector

1st Sunday after Epiphany

14th January 2024

Reflection (readings are below)

In the reading from Genesis tells of divisions but these divisions that shape rather than fragment. The whole is thus greater than the parts. It is God’s physical presence that is the source of this creative process. The reading also tells of a process of naming by which things gain an identity.

Today’s psalm describes God’s voice – it not only names, as in Genesis, but makes waters thunder, breaks trees, makes mountains leap, splits flames and makes the wilderness shake. This is a voice that commands awe and wonder. It is also a voice that brings forth blessings. There is no part of creation that is not acted upon by God’s presence.

Nevertheless I am sure that when the presence of God was made so manifest at Jesus’s baptism – when the effects of God’s presence were so amplified – that those who witnessed it must have been changed for ever. The heavens are split apart – does this suggest to us that a new phase in the history of creation has begun? For one the first phase when God creates heaven and earth, is expanded from a formless and dark void, into a world that has physical framework and timely framework. Is this a point at which the relationship between God and all that has been created is irrevocably changed?

In the Orthodox world view, Christ’s baptism in the river Jordan, blessed both that river and all other rivers and bodies of water too. This aspect of the baptism is celebrated in Orthodox communities by putting – or throwing – a holy cross into the local river, blessing the water and reminding everyone of its holy nature.

By the same token, surely all soil is once more made holy as Jesus walked upon the earth, all air made holy as Jesus breathed it in, all homes made holy as Jesus entered them. I am sure it is good for us to be reminded that the world is a holy place, that we should treat each and every part of it with respect and awe and thanksgiving. It must also therefore prompt us to recall with regret and penitence all the times we have misused the earth, the times we have disregarded its holiness, and the times we have sought to avoid sharing its blessings with others.

Let us celebrate this season of Epiphany by reawakening our awareness of and response to, the holiness of all creation, being ever grateful to our God.

Genesis 1:1-5

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Psalm 29

1 Ascribe to the Lord, you gods, *
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his Name; *
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
the God of glory thunders; *
the Lord is upon the mighty waters.

4 The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice; *
the voice of the Lord is a voice of splendour.

5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; *
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;

6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, *
and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire;
the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; *
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

8 The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe *
and strips the forests bare.

9 And in the temple of the Lord *
all are crying, “Glory!”

10 The Lord sits enthroned above the flood; *
the Lord sits enthroned as King for evermore.

11 The Lord shall give strength to his people; *
the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

Acts 19:1-7

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what then were you baptised?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptised with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied— altogether there were about twelve of them.

Mark 1:4-11

John the baptiser appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptised you with water; but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Counting on … day 11

11th January 2024

Use less water
Using less resources or using them more efficiently is surely good for the environment. One resource which we could use with greater care and efficiency is water.

Whilst wetter winters may give us a superfluity of water, hotter and dryer summers are also going to be an ongoing feature of the change in our climate. With the increasing use of water meters, using less water should produce a financial saving (at the moment I am not sure how often the meters are read and whether instead bills are based on estimates).

Another good reason for using less water, is to reduce use the need for water companies to invest in building more reservoirs or in schemes to extract more water from rivers, replacing the water with treated sewage. Both are schemes that have been put forward by Thames Water and are being opposed by local and environmental groups.

According to Water Safe, whilst the average UK citizen uses 140 litres of water a day, the expectation is that we should be able to reduce this to 100 litres – or less – per day. (In Denmark water consumption is about 105 litres per day). This could be through taking shorter showers, flushing toilets less, using more efficient appliances, reusing water – grey water from sinks or from water butts to water plants or flush the loo – or even simply turning off taps when not in use. Their web site has more suggestions

Save Water

Click to access developing_water_efficient_homes.pdf

Or see – https://friendsoftheearth.uk/sustainable-living/13-best-ways-save-water

Counting on … day 59

5th March 2024

If we wish, we can calculate our individual – or household – carbon footprint. Various groups offer online carbon footprint calculators. Some are very quick to work through but are more rough and ready. More complex calculations will be more precise. We can use this information to identify areas of our lifestyle where we could make adjustments to achieve a more sustainable life style.

Suggested carbon footprint calculators:

https://footprint.wwf.org.uk

https://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx

Generally our carbon footprint is proportionate to our income. Of course it does depend what we buy. Spending £1000 on air travel will have a far higher carbon footprint that spending £1000 on planting a small woodland. Mike Berners Lee has produced a book, “How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything.” This details the carbon footprint of a wide range of products and activities and can thus help us choose less carbon-costly lifestyles.

A report produced by the Guardian in conjunction with Oxfam, the Stockholm Environment Institute and others, reported that “The richest 1% of humanity is responsible for more carbon emissions than the poorest 66%, with dire consequences for vulnerable communities and global efforts to tackle the climate emergency.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/20/richest-1-account-for-more-carbon-emissions-than-poorest-66-report-says?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Further articles –

Green Tau: issue 12

The Green Tau: issue 17

Green Tau: issue 15

Green Tau: issue 88

The climate crisis and insurance companies intersect at three main points.

Climate risks: the risks that insurance companies guard against will include the growing risks associated with extreme adverse weather events. More intense and more frequent floods, wildfires, storms, mud- and landslips will lead to increases in damage to lives and properties. In the short term insurance companies will bear the loss; in the longer term premiums will rise but not necessarily profits.

Underwriting fossil fuel projects: fossil fuel projects – drilling wells, building pipelines, opening mines – need insurance companies who will underwrite the risk of undertaking the project. Ironically these are the very projects that cause climate change and the consequential extreme weather damage for which the insurance companies have to pay out.

Of course insurance companies can be the hero of the day by not underwriting fossil fuel projects and so preventing them from going ahead.

Investing in climate positive or climate negative: to ensure they have sufficient funds to pay out for insurance claims, insurance companies invest the premiums they receive to generate a return. In the past many insurance companies have invested in the fossil fuel industry. This again can be an ironic choice with their fossil fuel investments adding to the climate crisis and thus the size and number of insurance claims being made.

Of course, insurance companies do not have to invest in fossil fuels; there are many other investment opportunities in the renewable energy industry, where profits can be made without damaging the environment.

From 26th February, across the globe, climate activities took part in the week long ‘Insure our Futures’ campaign. The campaign reached out to numerous insurance companies – and groups such as Lloyds of London – inviting them to be the superheroes we need by committing to ensure their company policies exclude the fossil fuel projects that are devastating the world. The campaign was highly creative with dance and song, music and marches and symbolic actions such as forming a human chain around Lloyds of London. Other activists peacefully occupied the offices of key insurance companies whilst passing on information to their staff about the risks of insuring destructive projects such as the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).

I took part in one such occupation. Eight of us calmly walked into the foyer of 88 Leadenhall Street which houses the offices of Probitas 1492. We sat quietly on the floor such that we were visible to those coming in and out – but not blocking their passage. We remained there for five hours, praying, singing, reading poems, and hearing once again the speech given by Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General, in which he spoke of the urgency of tackling the climate crisis using the famous words that we must now act to do ‘everything, everywhere, all at once.’

Throughout our stay the receptionist and the security staff we polite and pleasant – afterwards we gave them a box of chocolates as a thank you. The police presence (a pair of officers) was also polite: our action was not a criminal offence.

Today, 4th March, Probitas 1492, has officially confirmed that they have not and will not insure neither EACOP nor the West Cumbrian Coalmine. For more details – https://christianclimateaction.org/2024/02/28/christians-occupy-probitas-1492-to-ask-them-not-to-insure-fossil-fuel-projects/