We also put together a series of Scripture readings, based on different aspects of our living-in-the-world - and we invited different members of our preaching team to reflect on those themes in our sermons. You'll find here those themes, suggested readings, some questions to prompt the sermons/reflections, and summaries of the sermons/reflections. Huge gratitude to all involved in putting this together, and being willing to share their reflections here - it's been (and continues to be) an ever-expanding team effort!
Week One (1st September): Introduction to season
Suggested readings: Genesis 2:4b-17, Luke 10:25-37
What does it mean to follow God’s call to care for creation? Setting the scene for the
weeks to follow…
“Who
is my neighbor?” Not just humans but the whole of creation. In the context of
climate catastrophe, we are called to care for and love the planet, as well as
people affected by climate change. We don’t have to have all the solutions, but
we do need to work together, from a position of hope and love, to be better
stewards of God’s creation.
Ruth Harley
Week Two (8th September): Food
Suggested readings: Matthew 14:13-21, Leviticus 25:1-17, Proverbs 12:10
What impact do our decisions about what and where to buy food have on our global
neighbours and on our environment? What can we do to follow God’s call to care in our
decision making as individuals and as a church?
Eating
meat isn’t just bad for animals – it’s bad for the planet (because of how much
CO2 it produces). But it’s almost as if we’re in denial about the consequences
of our meat-eating. We keep doing something we know is bad news.
So as
Christians, we need to find ways of supporting each other to change, one step
at a time (a bit like the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 step programme).
And the first step is gratitude: becoming more aware of what we eat, as grace,
as costly gift – and of our interdependence as earth-creatures...
Al Barrett
Week Three (15th September): Energy
Suggested readings: Romans 8:21-22, Psalm 104
What choices do we make in what energy we use, and how we use it? What impact does
this have on our neighbours? How does creation provide energy naturally? What can we
do to follow God’s call to care as individuals and as a church?
One
of the important questions Jesus asks in the gospels is “Who is my neighbour?”
That is a really important question when we think about energy. How do we
define the term neighbour? How big is our picture? What principles do we need to bear in mind,
here are some suggestions:
· Cherish and protect life as a gift from God;
· Accept an appropriate share of responsibility for the welfare of creation;
· Live in solidarity with others for a common good, namely, the sustainability of an abundant Earth;
· Strive for justice in society; give special attention to the needs of the poor and members of minority groups;
· Contribute to the widespread participation in decision-making processes.
What small steps can we take to reduce our energy consumption to play our part in seeking to combat the ecological crisis facing us?
· Cherish and protect life as a gift from God;
· Accept an appropriate share of responsibility for the welfare of creation;
· Live in solidarity with others for a common good, namely, the sustainability of an abundant Earth;
· Strive for justice in society; give special attention to the needs of the poor and members of minority groups;
· Contribute to the widespread participation in decision-making processes.
What small steps can we take to reduce our energy consumption to play our part in seeking to combat the ecological crisis facing us?
Sally Nash
Week Four (22nd September): Finance
1 John 3:17-18, Luke 16:1-13
What choices do we make in our personal and cooperate banking? Do we know how our
banks use our money? How can we use what God has given us to safeguard the earth?
What changes can we make as individuals and as a church to follow God’s call to care?
The
way we spend our money matters – the example of fast fashion showed us that
people aren’t paid fair wages and that human-made fabrics damage the earth when
washed and then disposed off.
When
we or the companies we buy from are motived by profit it can have huge
ramifications on our planet.
As
Christians the way we use our money matters and we can to make a positive difference.
Jen Walters
Week Five (29th September): Harvest festival: Rest
God
made the Sabbath for humans to rest, but also told the people of Israel to give
the land a rest every 7 years. Our response to climate change and species
extinction is often “we’ve got to do something!” – but sometimes what we really
need is to stop doing things: to stop working the earth so hard, extracting so
much from it; to learn to “let it be”, to give it space to let nature take
control again. And when we do, amazing things can happen!
Al Barrett
Week Six (October 6th): Travel
Suggested readings: Psalm 24, ??
How do we get around locally? Where do we like to go on holiday? What impact do our
choices have on the earth? What does God have to say about all of it? Is sabbath just
about us, or also about the earth we live in? What could we do as a church to ensure the
way we travel protects the earth? What choices can we make as individuals about the way
we travel?
Travel
brings gifts – discovering different places, new people, the wonders of
creation. But it comes at a cost – producing huge amounts of CO2 (especially
planes and cars), contributing to climate change, creating climate refugees (an
unchosen form of travel). Our cars help connect us to others, keep us alive,
give us independence, enable us to explore – but we can try to share journeys
with others, and switch to public transport (or walk/cycle) where we can. We
need to hold the gifts of travel in tension with the Benedictine commitment to stability – an ongoing
conversion by ‘the otherness of here’ – re-localise our
lives (finding what we need closer to home), as well as always being ready to
welcome people who arrive in our neighbourhood from
other places.
Al Barrett
Week Seven (October 13th): Waste
Suggested readings: Ezekiel 34:18, Matthew 6:19-21
What do we dispose of? What do we reuse? How does industry and culture affect our
attitude to waste? How does our waste impact the earth? What are the ways we can
reduce our waste as individuals and as a church? Why does God care about our waste?
My
sermon was about waste. I covered ideas thinking about our earth being God’s
treasure and asked the congregation to think of it in the same way. Also
we looked at how we care for our treasure and try to apply it to the earth and
how we can reduce, recycle and reuse to cut down what we throw away. I
included how we dispose of our waste. The congregation came up with their
own ideas of how to reduce waste.
My
question to the congregation was -‘ Do I need it or do I just want it’ This
applies to when buying new things and it was a question I asked the
congregation to consider, along with all the suggested ideas for reducing what
we dispose of.
Gloria Smith
Week Eight (October 20th): Nature
Suggested readings: Colossians 1:16-17, Job 12:7-10
How do we encounter nature? How can we encounter God through the natural world? In
what ways do we connect with the earth and how can we do more as individuals and as a
church?
Nature
is everything in God’s created world, while there are things that cause us
concern, even fear (earth quakes, hurricanes etc.), there are many things that
give us wow moments every day, from sun rises to the antics and activities of
animals to new birth. As a young child my grandmother taught me that when I was
stung by nettles there was always a doc leaf to sooth the pain away. A wow
moment for me as a child. For my grandma this was proof positive that God’s
love was active in the world. We are more aware today of the healing properties
of nature from the wows that give us a lift in spirit (important in mental
health treatment for example), to the plants that provide healing for so many
ailments. God’s healing love active in the world today.
David Walton
Week Nine (October 27th): Power (and re-cap the season)
How to engage with those who hold power and make decisions. Campaigning for the safeguarding of the earth.
Suggested readings: Luke 18:1-8
