On Saturday 30th November 2019, the Community and Companions hosted an afternoon on Climate Change, followed by Evening Prayer for the beginning of Advent. The invited speaker, Jack Wakefield (Tearfund*) gave an impassioned and informative talk and encouraged us to take positive action.
“Tearfund work with supporters and partners to influence powerful decision-makers around the world and we encourage everyone to alter their own lifestyles, as a way to love our neighbours. We realised that we would not be able to tackle extreme poverty in the world unless we tackled the issue of Global Climate Change so that is why it is such an important issue for us”. Jack Wakefield
Jack was such an enthusiastic and positive person; he spoke first about the wonder of Creation and how the beauty of the world is so often mentioned in Scripture. He talked about the situation now and what we have done to our world. As regards our world now, he encouraged us to be “Ambassadors of Restoration”.
He encouraged us to respond personally in the way we eat and live (consume less and live more simply) but also he encouraged us to influence governments and big business.
He challenged us to move away from fossil fuels and not be afraid to lobby global brands to do the same, as well as taking more responsibility for the packaging and rubbish they produce especially when selling to poor countries where there is probably no waste management.
Jack’s slides are available here and you can read more about the work of Tearfund on their website.
*TEARFUND is a Christian charity, passionate about ending poverty. With over 50 years’ experience of responding to disasters and crises, they serve the most vulnerable people and communities – wherever they are