15th July 2022
The Big Butterfly Count begins today and is open til 7th August. We are invited to spend 15 minutes in our chosen location counting how many butterflies we can spot – they have a useful downloadable identification sheet.
14th July 2022
The micro climate of urban areas can be improved by planting trees, whether that is in the street by the local authority or in your garden if you have the space. Autumn is a good time for planting but now good be a good time for planning.
13th July 2022
Urban areas are generally hotter than their nearby rural areas. Buildings and vehicles all add heat to their local micro climate, whilst vegetation reduces temperatures. Not driving cars during hot weather is one small way of keeping the air cooler. You too will probably feel cooler walking on the shady of side of the street rather than being sat in a hot metal box.
What does sustainability look like in daily life? I thought I would share my experiences.
Previous pages have looked at the use of heating and energy, food and travel for which it is generally easier to calculate one’s carbon footprint and assess the sustainability of alternative choices. Today I am going to reflect on the none food things I buy such as books, clothes, things for the house and garden. These all have a carbon footprint and have more or less sustainable credentials. Here are some of the ways I try to ensure that I use stuff sustainably.
*Not acquiring things that I don’t actually need. It is surprising how often we are tempted – or encouraged by advertising – to buy things we don’t need. Do I really need it? Do I need to buy it now or could I wait and see if I still need it at a later date? Have I got something similar that will fulfil the same purpose?
* Research – find out what choices are available: which product is most sustainably, how long it will last and, if electrical, its energy efficiency. The internet is useful, as is Ethical Consumer which has both a web site and a magazine. When we needed a new printer, we bought a more expensive Epson model that instead of using disposable cartridges (which hardly last any time at all) has an economical refill system – and 8 months later we have yet to need to refill these.
* Repairing rather than replacing. When something breaks, see if it can be repaired – either at home or via a specialist. Years ago, I bought a Globe Trotter suitcase because of their reputation for quality. When the handle broke, I was able to take it back and have a new one fitted. I frequently darn socks and T shirts, patch up tears, glue broken items in the kitchen, mend punctured tyres, takes shoes to the cobbler, and buy spare parts from the manufacturer.
* Lending and borrowing: do I need to buy something if I am only go to use it occasionally? As well as libraries for books and videos, there are libraries for things. I prefer to rent skis knowing that they are going to be well used, as opposed to buying skis that would become obsolescent before they wore out.
* If I can, I look for options that will make a positive contribution to someone else: eg choosing a fair trade or organic option, supporting a local producer, buying from a B corp.
12th July 2022
Double glazing also keeps excess heat out! When the outside temperature is hotter than inside, closing the windows and drawing the curtains can help insulate rooms from high temperatures outside. On the other hand if you can open several windows causing a flow of air through the room, the movement of air may feel more comfortable.
11th July 2022
We all need to drink more during hot weather – birds too. Keeping a bird bath topped up with clean water provides somewhere for birds both to drink and to bathe – a good way to keep cool.
10th July 2022
You see it in some cafés – for a cool drink, fill a jug with water and add strips of cucumber/ slices of lemon or orange/ sprigs of mint/ slices of root ginger/ even melon rinds. Keep the jug in the fridge – it will stand a few refills before the additions loose their flavour. (No sugar, and no bottles to recycle).
10th July 2022
Reflection
I was listening to a podcast talking about museums and commenting that they were places where one could discuss the big questions. The question in today’s gospel is about the meaning of life. The lawyer phrases this by asking what he must do to attain eternal life, to live a life of total fulfilment.
Jesus sets out a parable and invites his questioner to consider what is the behaviour that marks out the neighbour?
The answer to the meaning of life is not 42 but love. When the way we live our life is so full of love – love for our neighbour and our creator – that there is no room for hate, or despair, or prejudice, or selfishness, or bias, or thoughtlessness, or dishonesty , or greed – then we experience eternal life.
On Friday I joined a prayer vigil outside the Central Hall at York University where synod was meeting to discuss, amongst other things, care for the environment. As delegates came past, we handed them leaflets calling on the Church of England to divest from fossil fuels and explaining why this was a crucial way of showing love for our neighbour – including those in the global south who are suffering greatly from the effects of the climate change crisis for which we in the north are the cause – and for our creator.
Some delegates responded with thanks and concurred that what was being asked was was right and proper and indeed was what they hoped the Church would do. Some hastily took the leaflet and walked on. Others averted their eyes so as not to have to engage at all.
I wondered what it was that prevented some of the delegates from recognising both the importance of tackling the climate crisis and the importance that the Church should be seen to be leading the way rather than supporting the industries that perpetuate the cause of the crisis. What was probably true for them, is probably true for many others who are not members of synod. Here are three possible reasons.
These are real concerns but they are not insurmountable. There are enough wise and inventive people out there, and there are solutions but not always the commitment and determination to act upon them in a selfless way. Like the Samaritan in the story, we need to be brave, we need to be risk takers, and we need to step outside our comfort zone. Like the lawyer, we need not just to know the law, but to,act upon it. We need to love our creator with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbour as ourself.
Amos 7:7-17
This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,
“See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by;
the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very centre of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said,
`Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile
away from his land.'”
And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”
Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, `Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
“Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.
You say, `Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’
Therefore thus says the Lord:
`Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
and your land shall be parcelled out by line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.'”
Psalm 82
1 God takes his stand in the council of heaven; *
he gives judgment in the midst of the gods:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly, *
and show favour to the wicked?
3 Save the weak and the orphan; *
defend the humble and needy;
4 Rescue the weak and the poor; *
deliver them from the power of the wicked.
5 They do not know, neither do they understand;
they go about in darkness; *
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 Now I say to you, ‘You are gods, *
and all of you children of the Most High;
7 Nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, *
and fall like any prince.'”
8 Arise, O God, and rule the earth, *
for you shall take all nations for your own.
Colossians 1:1-14
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Luke 10:25-37
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, `Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
9th July 2022
The war in Ukraine and water shortages across the globe, is affecting the cost and availability of wheat. For many people in countries such as Somalia and Egypt, the effect will be hunger and starvation. It behoves those of us who have and can afford bread, to value and not waste it.
8th July 2022
Bread is the second most frequently thrown away waste food. Plastic bread bags are said to help by prolonging the life of the bread before it goes stale or mouldy but then that adds to the amount of plastic that is being produced and (hopefully) recycled. Why can we not better regulate howoften we buy/ make and eat bread? One of the joys of holidaying in France is eating bread freshly baked and bought on a daily basis.
The Green Tau 