Tag: witness

Green Tau

9th February 2026

Why and how Christians should react to the climate and biodiversity crisis

Last year Christian Climate Action produced vision document, Stop Crucifying Creation (1), calling on the Church to be outspoken and prophetic about the climate and biodiversity crisis; whilst Green Christian at its annual conference explored the idea that churches should become hubs of resilience in the face of the crisis – and this has been outlined in their most recent Storm of Hope (2).

Some years ago when I was looking at ordination, I read a book by Rowan Williams about the nature of priesthood. He described this as a threefold call to be a witness, a watchman and a weaver. On reflection I now understand that this is not just the calling of the priest but also of the Church. 

Witness – ie to witness to gospel message of Jesus, to his teachings, his life death and resurrection. To witness in words and actions what Jesus teaches about salvation: that we should love God and one another, that we should cherish and protect creation, that we should not abuse our privileges, that we should act justly, seek mercy and walk humbly with God

Watchman – ie looking out for what is on the horizon, what is coming down the road towards us. What are the dangers we may be facing? What are the stories that the world is telling us – both truthful and dishonest ones?  What are the solutions? How can we beat love our neighbours? How does God want us to respond? 

Weaver  – ie to be an instigator and supporter of community building, enabling resilience, and  also identifying areas of conflict or disagreement so that they can be addressed or diffused. Being skilled in holding together different points of view and the needs and desires of different sectors that impact daily life both locally and globally.

The ‘Stop Crucifying Creation’ visionary document encompasses all these three role models. 

Witness:-

Call for the Church to return to its roots: to create the communities and lifestyles that Jesus taught, where love for our neighbour and not profit determines our actions, where shying the gospel leads to repentance – rethinking and reshaping our lives, where prayer and sabbath rest shapes our days and weeks, where gratitude to God for all that we have inspires our worship, where sharing resources and helping one another is the norm. It will be to counter the prevailing consumerist society, to embrace the ethic of “Joy in Enough” (an ethic actively promoted by Green Christian), to steer away from the model of constant economic growth. 

Watchman:-

Call for the Church to openly name and resist the evils that are driving the climate and biodiversity crisis. To be able to unpick and explain the issues, such as the increasing future cost – especially to the poor and vulnerable – of not acting now. And rather to be able to show how action now can create a better future for everyone: a win-win scenario

This will be to speak truth to power, to challenge the entrenched systems that perpetuate the destruction of our environment and the oppression of the poor.

Weaver:-

This will be to create strong communities within the Church, and to enable and support the wider communities in which the Church finds itself. It will be to help create hubs of resilience which in many cases may focus round church buildings. It will be to advocate for supporting communities in other parts of the world, encouraging governments and organisations to work together for the common good.

It will be to increase understanding of the interconnectedness of the natural world, to enable people to live in harmony with other living beings, to live within the limits of finite resources, safeguarding and protecting the natural world for generations to come.

(1) ‘Stop Crucifying Creation’

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yOj-jCh9H8L_vqFJ89fbpJHPQibwPgQ0/view?usp=drivesdk

(2) Storm of Hope

Click to access Storm-of-Hope-January-2026-proof-4.pdf

Third  Sunday of Easter

14th April 2024

Reflection – readings follow on below.

The Psalmist expresses my frequent cry: ‘Oh that we might see better times!’ I look at the damage caused by climate change, the damage caused to the environment by greed and over-consumption, the poverty that arises from injustice, the suffering of war and armed conflict – and I despair. 

To which I think Peter would reply, ‘Why do you wonder? Faith that is through Jesus, the Holy and Righteous One, the Author of Life – to whom you are a witness – is the means of healing what is broken!’ 

If we are not following the teachings of Jesus, or if we are not following the will of God in tending and caring for all life – whether consciously through Christian fellowship or intuitively through natural wisdom – then what do we expect?

Nevertheless I do see that the process of healing – of salvation – is a slow process one because  so often we reject what Jesus – God’s chosen one, the Christ – teaches us. That we should love God and in so doing honour God’s creation, and that we should love our neighbour as ourself without reservation. Which makes it all the more important that we do witness to what is going right in the world – those actions which match Jesus’s teaching, which are the Good News – and witness to what is going wrong through ignorance and sin.

Here I want to give three examples.

We can witness to the example of Jesus feeding the 5000 and to the valiant efforts being made to feed thousands in Gaza by groups such as the UN World Food Programme and World Central Kitchen. And we can witness to the actions of the State of Israel in impeding the delivery of such aid.

We can witness to the many examples of Jesus healing people in mind and body, and in restoring people to their communities – such as Legion – and to the work of groups such as the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, and Médecins Sans Frontières in bringing healing to many caught up in war zones. And we can witness to the actions of the suppliers of armaments and armed groups that instigate and perpetuate armed conflict. 

We can witness to the many examples of Jesus challenging those with wealth and skills to use them for the common good, and  to the work of organisations such as Oxfam, Practical Action and Just Money in creating situations where wealth and skills are used to raise up the poor and to bring down the mighty. And we can witness to the actions of corporations such as Barclays and Shell and Amazon in perpetuating policies that disadvantage the poor and vulnerable. 

Just as in the gospel, so today, the risen Jesus says to us ‘Peace be with you’. 

The word in Greek translated as peace is eirḗnē which draws from the verb eirō with the meanings be joined, tie together, make  whole. The peace that Jesus offers us is that which joins us together, as a community, as a team. Together we can support each other and create a whole that is greater than its parts – that which St Paul describes as the body of Christ. As we celebrate Easter and the resurrection,  let us draw on that peace that can – even if slowly –  create the better times we and the whole world wants.

Acts 3:12-19

Peter addressed the people, “You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.

“And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.”

Psalm 4

1 Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; *
you set me free when I am hard-pressed;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

2 “You mortals, how long will you dishonour my glory; *
how long will you worship dumb idols
and run after false gods?”

3 Know that the Lord does wonders for the faithful; *
when I call upon the Lord, he will hear me.

4 Tremble, then, and do not sin; *
speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.

5 Offer the appointed sacrifices *
and put your trust in the Lord.

6 Many are saying, “Oh, that we might see better times!” *
Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O Lord.

7 You have put gladness in my heart, *
more than when grain and wine and oil increase.

8 I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; *
for only you, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

1 John 3:1-7

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

Luke 24:36b-48

Jesus himself stood among the disciples and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”