Tag: Lifestyle

Proper 22, 18th Sunday after Trinity

4th October 2026

Reflection with readings below

Again the teaching from the prophets – in this reading Isaiah – is that we are not aligning our will with God’s; that we are not shaping our lives and lifestyles to conform to God’s expectations – that we are sinners. But there is still the option of turning back to God, allowing God’s wisdom to shape how we live. It might involve accepting radical change, accepting pruning but also gaining from God’s nurturing guidance.

But note too that had the vine been responsive it would have had a flourishing life and would have produced beautiful sweet wine. God truly wants us and all creation to have good and flourishing lives. God’s ways are not random nor arbitrary; they are the means of a bountiful and eternal life.

In the letter to the Philippians, Paul declares that his confidence  – his certainty that he is pursing the right way to live –  comes not from following the Law (an inspired yet still human construct) nor from status, nor from race or class, nor from inherited traditions, but from following Jesus, from becoming more and more Christ-like. The Hebrew understanding of righteousness is to be in a right relationship with God and therefore with one’s fellow creatures. To be righteous is to reflect the face – the image – of God. To pursue righteousness is to become more Christ-like: in John’s gospel we hear Jesus saying that whatever the Father does, the Son does. 

So we come to today’s gospel, again with a parable about a vineyard. But here it is not the vine that is the focus, but the tenants who tend the vine – the ones who are standing in for the owner, ie God. Do the designs and action of these tenants reflect the image of God? No, they are clearly self interested and motivated by the potential for their own gain. Whilst the gospel writers of the day clearly saw the Pharisees as the tenants, in the current day we might rather see the parable as addressed to us as humans in all our roles and guises where we have not tended the vineyard – ie the Earth and all its bounty – in a manner that reflects God’s ways. Like the vineyard tenants, we have sought to impose our own values on how we deal with what has been shared with us, and seek to maximise our own gain at the expense of others. 

Can we yet refocus and discern what is important in how we conduct our lives? Can we seek out the corner stones that will allow us to rebuild a better way of life? Can we identify what are the key components of a thriving ecosystem, a thriving economy, and build on them, setting side our own arrogance and selfishness? 

This does sound like – and in reality is – a huge change of direction. It  will involve systemic change at the highest levels, requiring global cooperation, the de-prioritisation of the rich and wealthy, a genuine sharing of resources between all creaturely beings, replacing destructive economic models, and reforming and reasserting justice for all. But that is not to say that it is impossible, nor is it to say that we as individuals can’t do our bit. 

We are each called to reflect the image of God – to be Christ-like in all that we do. This will involve us in re-examining our relationships with one another – with our human and non human neighbours. It will involve us in re-examining our lifestyles – what we buy, what we eat, how we travel, how we share our gifts and our financial resources. It will involve us in spending time with and rebuilding our relationships with the rest of creation. But we will not be doing this on our own: Christ will be there with us, giving us strength and guidance. And the goal will not be a diminished life nor a diminished world, but a life and a world of beauty and peace in which all flourish.

Isaiah 5:1-7

Let me sing for my beloved
my love-song concerning his vineyard: 

My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill. 

He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with choice vines; 

he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it; 

he expected it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes. 

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
and people of Judah, 

judge between me
and my vineyard.

What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I have not done in it? 

When I expected it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes? 

And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard. 

I will remove its hedge,
and it shall be devoured; 

I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down. 

I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; 

I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it. 

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel, 

and the people of Judah
are his pleasant planting; 

he expected justice,
but saw bloodshed; 

righteousness,
but heard a cry! 

Psalm 80:7-14

7 Restore us, O God of hosts; *
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt; *
you cast out the nations and planted it.

9 You prepared the ground for it; *
it took root and filled the land.

10 The mountains were covered by its shadow *
and the towering cedar trees by its boughs.

11 You stretched out its tendrils to the Sea *
and its branches to the River.

12 Why have you broken down its wall, *
so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes?

13 The wild boar of the forest has ravaged it, *
and the beasts of the field have grazed upon it.

14 Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven;
behold and tend this vine; *
preserve what your right hand has planted.

Philippians 3:4b-14

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 21:33-46

Jesus said, “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.” 

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: 

‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone; 

this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’? 

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” 

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realised that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

Counting on 2026 …. Day 76

9th July 

Scientists and health experts are equally agreed that active travel benefits not only benefits the environment but also our own health.

“People who do regular physical activity have a lower risk of:

Research also shows that physical activity can boost self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy, as well as reducing your risk of stress.” (1) 

Driving less and using active travel – walking, cycling, public transport – is good for us as well as helping to reduce climate damaging emissions. And the benefits don’t stop there!

https://communityhealthpartnerships.co.uk/sustainability-update-for-tenants-active-travel-and-cycling-feb-2024/
  1. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/exercise-health-benefits/

Counting on 2026 …. Day 69

30th June

Allwood proposes as a starting point we find a way of measuring our progress – otherwise how ill we know if we are reducing our consumption by 25% or 50% or 75%? – and suggests keeping a record of, say, how many litres of petrol, kg of beef, or cubic meters of gas, we consume. Then the task of restraint. “Perhaps we can take a train to avoid buying a tank of petrol, upgrade our windows or turn the thermostat down … take local [European] holidays to reduce our use of aeroplanes.”

Allwood also reminds us to look out for unconscious habits. “If the works canteen [local cafe/ pub] always has a red-meat dish, we might eat it without noticing. But if it is on offer only once a week, we would learn to value it differently and perhaps we would eat red meat only if we have looked forward to it ….” (Both page 131)

Such restraint should be seen from the perspective that they are actions that show care for our planet and for our neighbours.

Counting on 2026 …. Day 68

29th June

The key message of Allwood and Davison’s book (1) is the need for us all as consumers to show restraint. If we are to live in a world where temperatures increases stay below 2C we absolutely have to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. To do this we have to consume less  of everything that produces these emissions and less of most things that use electricity as we will not be able to install sufficient capacity in electrical generation and distribution if we are to power everything currently powered by fossil fuels. 

Allwood presents us with a timeframe of action. We need to reduce our emissions by a quarter by 2028, by a half by 2035, by three quarters by 2042, and by 2050 there will need to be in place legislation that prohibits creating greenhouse gas emissions. (P129). To achieve those targets, we (ie as individuals, households and as nations) will need to begin planning now. 

It is a challenging message that needs us to radically alter our daily lifestyles. However Allwood is as clear that consuming less doesn’t mean being unhappy or having to live substandard lives. 

Over the next few days I will consider 5 key areas of change highlighted in the book.

  1. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/promise-the-earth/31E27442471A864A6582BA751ECD239F

Counting on 2026 …. Day 63

22nd June

Temperance

If courage is the strength or virtue we need to overcome our hesitancy of acting when we would rather not, then temperance is the strength or virtue we need to overcome the temptation of doing what we know we shouldn’t do even when it seems so attractive. “If courage deals with aversion, then temperance deals with allure “ (p64)

Temperance is the virtue that helps us weigh up what is good and why is not good about the options on offer. It helps us distinguish between want and need. It helps us find the balance between too much and too little. Temperance helps to free us from false truths – more, bigger, faster, easier are not always better!

Temperance helps us exercise restraint: 

Davison reflects on the widespread practice of fasting within the Christian faith – such a during Lent. Here the practice of fasting where going without helps us to let go of distractions, enable us to focus on spiritual preparation. But Davison the reminds us that fasting for Lent may only be for 40 day where as the restraint we need to show to address climate polycrises, has to be a lifetime’s undertaking. Yet, whereas we may choose fasting in Lent that is deliberately discomforting (eg giving up chocolate), the restraint we must adopt as a complete life style change, can be such that it is pleasurable – eg having more free time for reading, eating a more tasteful diet etc. 

Davison  then draws out another analogy for us: athletes because of their love of the sport, will exercise temperance and discipline in their daily lives to ensure that they can be best athlete that they can be. Our love of God, our love of creation, will inspire such dedication in our daily lives.

Counting on 2026 …. Day 61

18th June

For the next few days I will pick up on Davison’s comments re the seven virtues.(1) 

Davison considers courage as the strength by which we overcome our fears and if need be make sacrifices for the good of others. Nevertheless this is not about being miserable or seeking out hardships. Rather it is about taking our fair share rather than leaving other to bear the bulk of the burden. “Courage” he writes,  “is a spur to action…[I]t is those of us with the most who need to make the largest change. There is good news in that: those who should change the most are those with the greatest resources to make it happen.” Page 27

Where the early Christians needed courage to stand by their faith even when others were pursuing other gods and cultural practices, maybe as modern day Christians we need courage to stand by our faith when it tells us we need to apply restraint in what we consume in the face of a system and culture that favours consumerism.

  1. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/promise-the-earth/31E27442471A864A6582BA751ECD239F

Counting on 2026 …. Day 31

28th April

One bit of advertising that did influence me was a small booklet picked up in a Lush store about zero waste. That prompted me to steer our household towards a zero waste lifestyle – and gave me an aversion to plastic. I will routinely not purchase a product – greetings card, pen, sandwich, chocolate bar, packet of biscuits, etc – if it comes wrapped in plastic. Sometimes I do have to give way – eg screws that tend to come in plastic packs. But my general aim of avoiding plastic does change the way I shop and consume things. I will pay more for the unpackaged item.

Read more about our household approach to zero waste – https://greentau.org/2026/04/27/zero-waste/

Zero Waste 

27th January 2022 Reposted 27th April 2026

“One summer we set ourselves a zero waste challenge – we would try and live 

for two weeks without producing any waste – i.e. nothing that goes into the dustbin. Whether it be food stuffs we used in the kitchen, cleaning materials around the house or tubes of toothpaste, the aim was to only use things that do not produce any non-recyclable waste. No bought bread unless the bag it came in could be recycled; no pre-packed fruit and vegetables unless all the packaging – including the film around the recyclable plastic box could be recycled – no mouthwash unless all the packaging including the plastic wrapper around the lid could be recycled.

In preparation we had reviewed how many things we bought were packaged and what things usually went into our dustbin. Some things that were not waste free we decided we could do without for a couple of weeks. For things we did want we hunted for alternatives. The latter in itself proved a rewarding experience. 

Tea whether bags or loose, often comes with an inner plastic wrapper. Seeking alternatives sources of tea we came across a tea shop, My Cup of Tea, where without blinking an eyelid, they weighed out the tea and tip it into our tea caddy. A number of coffee roasters are similarly happy to pour their beans into our tin. Each time there is an interesting conversation about waste free living. (It has been one harder to source coffee beans in this way). 

Where we couldn’t find a waste free alternative, we learnt to make our own. Pasta almost invariably comes in plastic or plastic-lined packaging, so had fun we brushing up our pasta making skills. (We can now buy packaging free UK sourced pasta from a local refill shop).

Week one and our un-recyclable waste was limited to: the plastic seal from under the milk bottle top, a blister packs from medication, a sticking plaster, the plastic film from a pack of pate, several mars bar wrappers, the plastic seal from a jar of instant coffee, a plastic envelope from a greeting card, and a plastic lined bag for coffee beans. (Our milk – dairy and oat – now comes in refillable bottles delivered to the door).

To achieve this level of zero waste we had had to make compromises on other principles. Whilst supermarkets do sell some loose fruit and vegetables, their organic produce is nearly always is pre-packed in plastic. Whole Food sells loose nuts,  dried fruits, grains and pulses but not from fair trade sources. (Our vegetables now come from Riverford Farm in a recycled box. Nuts and dried fruit come from the refill shop, but I buy Palestinian dates from Oxfam which do have some plastic packaging).

The zero waste experiment prompted us to look at the life cycle of daily objects such as toothbrushes which routinely go into landfill. We bought bamboo ones which can be composted. It is made us think about the costs of recyclable waste. Is the single use of a bottle that will then be recycled – taken by lorry to a separating plant and the possibly shipped across to Asia for reprocessing before being made into a new container – really good for the environment? Should we instead look for reusable packaging? A durable bottle filled from the tap instead of a plastic bottle of water from the shop, a washing up liquid bottle that can be refilled, refillable ink cartridges,  a fountain pens…..?”

The above is a reflection of my family’s experiment with zero waste some four years ago. It is interesting to note that some of the things that were going into our refuse bin then, we would now recycle. Blister packs for pills go to the recycling collection point at Superdrug, and the plastic film and wrappers now go to the soft plastic recycling point at Waitrose. Only the sticking plaster would still go into the refuse bin. 

 More important has been how the experiment changed the way  shopped. We discovered that with the zero waste experiment, not only did we put less in our refuse bin, but we also put less in our recycling bins too. We had been actively looking for unpackaged goods, and that mindset continues with us today. 

All packaging incurs a cost financially and with respect to the environment, and a further cost when it is either thrown away as refuse or is recycled as new sources of raw material.  Consuming less packaging is almost invariably a good thing!

Tips for swopping to a zero waste lifestyle:-

  • Make a commitment to trying the zero waste approach for a fixed short term period.
  • Plan for the time period in advance: Do a survey of your refuse bin: what things are you routinely throwing away?
  • What things might you have to do without for your agreed fortnight/ month? 
  • What alternatives could you buy instead?  Check  out local markets and smaller independent shops –  often they are are more flexible in what they expect of customers.
  • Search for local bulk stores – also known as refill stores – where you decant from large dispensers the ingredients you want to buy, filling up your own containers or paper bags etc. The range of items on sale is quite surprising, from powder turmeric to pasta, from olive oil to chick peas, from oats to cocoa nibs, from ground almonds to hair shampoo.
  • Ready made foods often have more packaging to protect them in their finished status: could you buy the raw ingredients with less packaging and make your own? Have a go at making your own biscuits, bread, pastry etc? 
  • Buying in bulk may reduce the proportionate amount of packaging. I bake bread and buy flour in 6kg sacks. A 500ml pot of yogurt has less packaging than 4 individual tubs – or make your own in reusable glass jars.
  • Fruit and vegetable box schemes often use minimal packaging.
  • Change your mind set: if you normally reach for plastic snack bar  to keep you going, get the habit of having a banana or a handful of nuts instead.  If you need a packed lunch, make a sandwich to take or buy a bread roll rather than opting for the plastic-packed ready made sandwich. If you’re going out for an ice-cream look for one that is served fresh in a cornet rather than one that’s pre-packed in plastic. Develop an aversion for crisps and individually packed biscuits. 
  • And if you feel that something you buy is over packaged, send the packaging back to the manufacturer with a query about its necessity. 

These tips focus primarily on food, but the same issues apply to other things too – roles of sticky tape and sticks of glue that come in plastic packaging; paper, cards and note books wrapped in plastic; pants and socks in individual plastic bags etc.

Advocates of zero waste lifestyles are often as keenly focused on following  a plastic free lifestyle too. Friends of the Earth have list of ideas to change to a zero plastic waste lifestyle – https://friendsoftheearth.uk/plastics/living-without-plastic

Counting on 2026 …. Day 30

27th April

Thinking more about greenwashing, in my twenties I used to subscribe to magazines such a Good Housekeeping and Country Living. After some years I realised that they were selling me an unachievable and unsustainable lifestyle. I stopped subscribing and was no longer sucked into the consumerist trap they represented.

I now subscribe to the Ethical Consumer! 

Green Tau: issue 98

Walking the Talk

24th November 2024

A few weeks ago, whilst I and others were holding our weekly Earth Vigil outside Parliament, a passerby stopped to quiz us. In transpired that he was not interested in the wellbeing of the environment and rather wanted to justify his position by proving that we were hypocrites. 

His line was that we could not be taken seriously in calling for a rescinding of the Rosebank licence whilst possessing shoes, clothes, rucksacks etc made from plastics/ ie oil. He would not listen to our response that we were constrained by what one could buy in a world that is still heavily embedded in using oil. Even as our economies transitions away from oil, it is still going to take a while before sufficient alternatives take over from plastic. As one person interjected, “When Edison was designing the lightbulb he had to rely on candle light!” (Or possibly gas). 

But what really incensed me was that I do try and do everything I can to live ecologically. I wear second hand clothes, darn my socks, patch my rucksack and my trainers, shop at a refill shop, avoid buying anything in a plastic wrapper, don’t fly, eat a vegan diet that includes wonky and unwanted fruit and vegetables, source beans and pulses grown in the UK. And flour for my bread is milled in a proper windmill in Cambridgeshire!

I do do all I can to walk the talk! 

And it’s not easy especially when you feel your are a minority of one. When we are away from our normal locality – and especially so when on holiday in Switzerland (we go by train) – it feels as if everyone else is saying, why are you so awkward?  What difference can it make whether or not you eat a little cheese, eat a cake made with butter, an ice cream made with milk? Will eating a croissant make any difference to the world? 

When I stay with family and they make a special dish just for me, I feel I awkward and think I must seem very pedantic.

Or when others are discussing their past and future holidays, a quick (and let’s agree in the present tax regime, cheap) flight to Italy/ Turkey/Spain, or a leisurely holiday exploring Japan, Korea and Malaysia, or a winter trip to sunny Oz. Am I grouch or a kill joy because I won’t fly? And this is where I do feel guilty: am I being really selfish as I know my husband would love for us to travel the world?

So why is it important to tread this lonely path? 

Firstly because unless someone starts, no one will ever start. I maybe the first not to fly amongst our friends but hopefully I won’t be the last.

Secondly because the more people take these steps the easier it will be for other to follow. If I always ask for a vegan cake when I’m buying a coffee, then hopefully in a few years time, vegan cakes will be the norm on cafes. Plant based milks are pretty much standard nowadays! (But why then current trend of charging extra?)

Thirdly because the more people are seen to be travelling by train not plane, or eating humous not cheese, or carrying a keep cup rather than using a single use throw away cup, the more normal such behaviour becomes.

Fourth as such patterns of behaviour become normalised – even popular – so businesses and governments will change their thinking. 

Fifthly because eventually the world could change for the better! 

Yet I am not hopeful that any of this will happen fast enough to prevent the huge catastrophe that the climate crisis is forming. And that makes it a very hard path to tread. I am making life awkward for myself and my husband and my friends and family with only a very small chance that it will make life better for them.  But equally I know that not trying would be even more hurtful. 

And finally, yes I do it because it makes me feel just a little bit better; that I am at least doing something rather than nothing.