Tag: activists

Proper 17, 13th Sunday after Trinity

30th August 2026

Reflection with readings below.

The overarching theme of today’s readings is that life is not free suffering – even for those who give their allegiance to God. Creation is still a work in progress?

I am reading Eat the Planet Well by Dave Goulson, a scientist who has specialised in bumblebees. He writes about adapting gardens and farmland to restore the lost habitats as a way of boosting the much depleted bumblebee population. He then writes about research he carried out on the effects of neonicotinoids on bees. His findings were clear and stark as to their highly detrimental affect.

But what surprised him more was the reaction of the pesticide industry, which threw vast sums of money at belittling his research – asserting it wasn’t truthful – lobbying politicians about the necessity of pesticides and the need to avoid legislation, bamboozling farmers about the multiple benefits of pesticides. Goulson records that the industry using the same game plan as the tobacco industry did in the 50s and 60s, as the fossil fuel industry has since at least the 1970s, and which both the meat and the plastics industries are also pursuing, falsely validating their product to ensure continued and increasing sales.

These are all industries that generate large profits for their shareholders, which use their size and financial clout to press governments across the world to protect their industries; which exploit the media to promote their product as good for society – Shell claims that they are key operators in ensuring energy security across the globe; which also use the media and think tanks to disabuse other viewpoints; and which have no regard for the damage their industries are causing. And indeed they are never asked to pay for the damage they cause.

Against these, campaigners and activists can feel overwhelmed. Will signing a petition, writing to my MP, joining a march, voting at AGMs, make any impact against mega sized corporations? Yet against the odds, they do continue to campaign.

Some campaigners conversely opt to undertake increasingly extreme actions to try and both raise public awareness and press governments to take action for the common good. Just Stop Oil took many nonviolent actions, such as closing down motorways, which did raise public awareness about the oil versus climate change issue but which also resulted in activists being imprisoned.

Such activists could echo the plaintive cry of Jeremiah. Why, he asks, does he suffer abuse and suffering from those who oppose God’s word? Why does he end up missing the parties and the good times because he is overwhelmed by the dire warnings of God’s? Is he in fact suffering pointlessly as he tries to adhere to God’s will?

God urges him to stay strong and to remain true to his calling, speaking truthfully God’s word and withstanding the forces of those who oppose God’s will. God will be with Jeremiah, God will provide him with resilience, and ensure his deliverance

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples not to turn away from the challenges and potential suffering that can result from following him. It is only by facing these challenges that they will experience life in all its richness.  Whilst Paul in his letter to the Romans reminds us how we should live – loving and honouring others, being hospitable and generous – and how we should not fall into the trap of behaving like those who oppose God’s word. We should not revile or hate our opponents, nor repay evil with evil. 

This is message for activists too. Our actions must bear the hallmark of what we stand for: they must reflect our beliefs. Equally we should not get sucked into responding to those who oppose us with words and actions that mirror theirs. We should continue to respect and be polite and honest in our actions and protests. Indeed we should bear in mind Paul’s words that we should go beyond the tit for tat, and actually minister positively towards those who oppose us when they are in need.

I also think part of the work of the activist, as it was for the prophet Jeremiah, is to bear witness to what is happening in the world around us, highlighting both what is going wrong and what is going aright. The horrendous tragedy unfolding in Nepal and Tibet is, in large part, the consequence of years of ignoring the damage caused by burning fossil fuels. We will not serve well current and future generations if we do not urgently address this issue – and here the ‘we’ has to be us as individuals, us as governments and us as businesses. Action will involve changing the way we live, consuming less, radically redistributing wealth. And so yes it will require us, if not to suffer, then at least to forgo what we see as pleasures and comforts – flying less, eating less meat and dairy, buying fewer electrical and fashion items, switching from gas boilers to electrical heating etc. But we may find life simpler and more enjoyable, and we will be doing all we can to avert further catastrophes that impact the lives of so many.

Jeremiah 15:15-21

O Lord, you know;
remember me and visit me,
and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors.

In your forbearance do not take me away;
know that on your account I suffer insult.

Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart;

for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.

I did not sit in the company of merrymakers,
nor did I rejoice;

under the weight of your hand I sat alone,
for you had filled me with indignation.

Why is my pain unceasing,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?

Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail.

Therefore, thus says the Lord:

If you turn back, I will take you back,
and you shall stand before me.

If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall serve as my mouth.

It is they who will turn to you,
not you who will turn to them.

And I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;

they will fight against you,
but they shall not prevail over you,

for I am with you
to save you and deliver you,

says the Lord.

I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless. 

Psalm 26:1-8 

1 Give judgment for me, O Lord,
for I have lived with integrity; *
I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.

2 Test me, O Lord, and try me; *
examine my heart and my mind.

3 For your love is before my eyes; *
I have walked faithfully with you.

4 I have not sat with the worthless, *
nor do I consort with the deceitful.

5 I have hated the company of evildoers; *
I will not sit down with the wicked.

6 I will wash my hands in innocence, O Lord, *
that I may go in procession round your altar,

7 Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving *
and recounting all your wonderful deeds.

8 Lord, I love the house in which you dwell *
and the place where your glory abides.

Romans 12:9-21

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

Matthew 16:21-28

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? 

“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Green Tau:  issue 92

3rd August 2024

We have a climate crisis! Who is going to raise the alarm?

“Ground temperatures across great swathes of the ice sheets of Antarctica have soared an average of 10C above normal over the past month, in what has been described as a near record heatwave.”

“Shell’s half-year profits climb to £10.9bn after focusing on fossil fuels”

“Five Just Stop Oil protesters jailed for climbing gantries to block M25”

These are all headlines from the Guardian newspaper on 1st August 2024 (which coincidently was also Earth Overshoot Day marking the day on which we humans had consumed a full year’s worth of the earth’s regenerative resources and thereafter are consuming the resources of future generations).

 I can’t be the only one to see here both cause and effect of the climate crisis, and the outrageous response to those brave enough to shout ‘Emergency!’? 

How can we go on punishing people for telling the truth about the crisis whilst allowing those who are fuelling it to carry in making ever greater profits?

As early as the 19th century, scientists were exploring the way in which increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere – such as carbon dioxide – could increase global temperatures, potentially altering the earth’s climate. (1)

As early as the 1970s Exxon knew of climate change and the contribution made by fossil fuel emissions. Indeed they even commissions scientists to investigate this phenomenon. (2)

Scientific evidence has continued to accrue showing not just the link between greenhouse gas emissions and increasing global temperatures, but also the sharp shape of the curve which demonstrates the speed with which this human-made change to the earth’s climate – and therefore environment – is happening. 

The bar chart shows ‘Yearly temperature compared to the twentieth-century average from 1850–2023. Red bars mean warmer-than-average years; blue bars mean colder-than-average years. (line graph) Atmospheric carbon dioxide amounts: 1850-1958 from IAC, 1959-2023 from NOAA Global Monitoring Lab.’ It is a NOAA Climate.gov graph, adapted from original by Dr. Howard Diamond (NOAA ARL).(3)

In 2008 the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act which tasked the Secretary of State with reducing the UK’s  greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2050 compared with those of 1990. The Act also established the Climate Change Committee to advise the government on the steps and targets needed to achieve this. (4) To date the government has managed to meet these targets but its policies – and the way we carry out transport, manufacturing, agricultural and other tasks such as insulating buildings – are not on track to meet the 2030 and 2050 targets. 

In 2015 under the auspices of the United Nation’s Conference on Climate Change (COP21) the nations agreed a legally binding international treaty. Known as the Paris Agreement its aim is to collectively limit greenhouse gas emissions such that global temperatures increases should not exceed 2C and ideally stay below a 1.5C increase. (5) NB the increase in global temperatures for the period February 2023 to January 2024 exceeded 1.5C. 

To implement the Paris Agreement, the UK government requires large businesses to create plans to show how they will transition to net zero by 2050. To enable this to happen, the government set up the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). (6)(7)

Companies can be judged as to whether they are Paris compliant or not. This applies to both companies in the UK and across the world. There are independent organisations  that keep track of the progress being made by companies whether that is at the planning stage or in implementing their plans. One such organisation is Carbon Tracker which has a particular focus on companies dealing in fossil fuels. (8) 

Are fossil fuel companies transitioning away from the production of oil and gas towards a 2050 future of renewable energy? Are fossil fuel emissions being cut? Is less oil and gas being produced? No! And no! And no!

 A report produced by Carbon Tracker in March 2024, concluded that of the 25 largest oil companies, none was on track to achieve either the 1.5C nor the less-than-2C warming targeted in the Paris Agreement. (9) This was startling but perhaps not unexpected. At COP28 in Dubai Antonio Gutierrez, the UN General Secretary, told world leaders that they “cannot save a burning planet with a fire hose of fossil fuels… The 1.5-degree limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels. Not reduce. Not abate.” (10) 

This year, both BP and Shell have declared their intentions to cut back on green energy projects and rather focus on increasing what is still the more profitable (for shareholders if not for the world) oil and gas production. 

From BP as they announces their second quarter results, “We are in action focusing, simplifying and growing the value of bp and have accomplished a lot in the past six months. We are high-grading our biofuels portfolio, including an agreement to take full ownership of bp Bunge. We are concentrating our strategy in hydrogen, including taking investment decisions on green hydrogen projects at our Castellón and Lingen refineries. We have also given the go-ahead to Kaskida, which will be our sixth production hub in the Gulf of Mexico, as we progress the development of new oil and gas resources.” (11)

For Shell, the Guardian reported that  Sawan, the new chief executive, had ‘reversed a plan to reduce Shell’s oil and gas production by 1-2% a year in pursuit of higher profits. Instead the company would add 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day to its production in 2024 and by 2025 would start enough new fossil fuel projects to add half a million barrels a day.’ (12)

With all this increasing production of fossil fuels and resultant emissions, and increasing global temperatures, where – apart from the UN Secretary General – are the voices of outrage, the voices raising the alarm: WHY ARE WE STILL FACING THIS EXISTENTIAL HUMAN-MADE CLIMATE CRISIS?

(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_climate_change_science

(2) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/exxon-knew-about-climate-change-almost-40-years-ago/

(3) https://www.climate.gov/media/13840

(4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_Change_Act_2008

(5) https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement

(6) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59136214

(7) https://kpmg.com/uk/en/home/insights/2022/05/climate-transition-plan-what-you-need-to-know.html

(8) https://carbontracker.org/

(9) https://carbontracker.org/oil-and-gas-companies-are-way-off-track-from-paris-agreement-goals-finds-new-combined-alignment-scorecard/

(10) https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/un-chief-says-ending-fossil-fuel-use-is-only-way-save-burning-planet-2023-12-01/

(11) https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/news-and-insights/energy-in-focus/2q-2024-results-highlights.html

(12) https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/feb/01/shell-to-raise-dividends-again-despite-30-fall-in-annual-profits?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Windows of Opportunity 

12th December 2023

Speak up for Activists

Activists and rebels are key ingredients in bringing about change. They bring important issues to the attention of the public, the government, businesses and  organisations. Their constant pushing back stops the issues being sidelined. Often they represent the feelings of a larger groundswell of people who do not feel so free to express their views. The actions of activists should open up the floor for debate, but where there are ingrained fears and invested interests, those with power may try and shut down their voices. 

Here is a report on this topic from the Guardian. “ Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry and Ben Okri have joined the former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and leading climate scientists to highlight what they describe as a “collective act of madness” that is driving “the destruction of life on Earth”.

“A letter signed by more than 100 actors, authors, scientists and academics says the UK government is ignoring the scientific reality of the climate and ecological crisis, pushing ahead with new fossil fuel developments and criminalising peaceful protesters who raise the alarm.

““Rather than listening to reason or scientific fact, the UK government continues to hand out contracts for oil exploration in the name of false ‘energy security’ while steering the UK towards authoritarianism,” the letter states. “In Britain today, it is verging on illegal to urgently and effectively protest for the right of life to survive.”

“Michel Forst, the UN rapporteur on environmental defenders, last month described the situation in the UK as “terrifying”, with protesters having to navigate a draconian new legal environment that includes significant limits on the right to protest.” (1)

(1) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/24/actors-and-academics-criticise-uk-over-climate-madness-and-limits-on-protest?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Fifth Sunday of Easter

15th May 2022

Acts 11:1-18

Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticised him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, `Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I replied, `By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, `What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, `Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, `John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

Psalm 148

1 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the heavens; *
praise him in the heights.

2 Praise him, all you angels of his; *
praise him, all his host.

3 Praise him, sun and moon; *
praise him, all you shining stars.

4 Praise him, heaven of heavens, *
and you waters above the heavens.

5 Let them praise the Name of the Lord; *
for he commanded, and they were created.

6 He made them stand fast for ever and ever; *
he gave them a law which shall not pass away.

7 Praise the Lord from the earth, *
you sea-monsters and all deeps;

8 Fire and hail, snow and fog, *
tempestuous wind, doing his will;

9 Mountains and all hills, *
fruit trees and all cedars;

10 Wild beasts and all cattle, *
creeping things and winged birds;

11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, *
princes and all rulers of the world;

12 Young men and maidens, *
old and young together.

13 Let them praise the Name of the Lord, *
for his Name only is exalted,
his splendour is over earth and heaven.

14 He has raised up strength for his people
and praise for all his loyal servants, *
the children of Israel, a people who are near him.
Hallelujah!

Revelation 21:1-6

I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”

And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.”

John 13:31-35

At the last supper, when Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Reflection 

The reading from Acts describes how Peter had to completely change his understanding of God and the world. All the principles and practices on which he had based his relationship with God, all that bound him as a member of the Jewish community, were being challenged. Perhaps one might even say, undermined. No longer was there a code that distinguished between what one should or should not eat – and by extension how one should shop, how and with whom one should dine; perhaps even who one should invite into your home. No longer was there exclusivity in being one of God’s people. No longer was there a them and us. 

And yet not everyone understood that this was God’s way. Not everyone understood that what God had achieved through Jesus Christ, the salvation that had been wrought, was for anyone and everyone with no restrictions. The challenge Peter is facing in this passage is not just that of coming to terms with the turning upside down of his religion, but also of having to explain this to his contemporaries –  most of whom did not see it the way he did. Did Peter feel perhaps as many of us feel about the climate crisis? Did he struggle to work out how he could explain to his contemporaries that everything was changing, that the rules were going to be different, that how people went about their daily lives was going to have to change, that sticking with the old ways, the traditional ways was not going to help? 

For the Christian climate activist the challenge is how to persuade people that the climate crisis is real and pressing, that we cannot continue with our old lifestyles and expect to cope, that we cannot ignore the plight of the vulnerable – those affected by rising food prices and or starvation, those affected by droughts and floods, wild fires and heat waves – and that we must make our voices heard when governments and big businesses pursue policies that increase their vulnerability. Like Peter, we have to find a way of winning over hearts and minds in persuading people to accept the new situation in which we find ourselves. We have to speak eloquently and calmly, yet with determination. 

If the reading from Acts is telling us that God is the God of both Jew and Gentile, then today’s psalm is telling us that God is the God not just of people but of all that lives and moves and – even – just exists in creation. We are all of God’s making, are all valued, and are all called to praise God. The reading from Revelation presents us with the hope of a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and first earth will have passed away. Are we to expect this physical earth to be replaced with a new physical earth? Or is it that we are to expect the first way in which the earth existed will be replaced with a new way of doing things? Maybe as a hotel might be re-created or re-formed under a new management?Just as Peter was invited to see his old world of kosher and non-kosher practices as having passed away and replaced with a new world diversity and inclusivity? Is this new order not what climate activists are hoping for? A new earth in which all of creation is respected and cared for in ways which God desires?

‘Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another’ says Jesus. We are called to follow Jesus’s example, his at pattern of living – for that is the way by which a new earth and a new heaven will come into being. As Peter experienced, following a new way means leaving behind the old way, allowing that first earth to pass away. Letting go of the past is not easy; it can feel like stepping into the unknown. But we are not alone, we are not without an example to follow, we are not without God”s presence to both heal and strengthen us.