“It seems the moment to look
for a new level of public seriousness about environmental issues”
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams
About the Sheffield Diocesan Environmental Group
Sheffield Diocesan Environmental Group exists to encourage
Churches and individual Christians across the diocese of Sheffield
to care for the Environment that God has entrusted to us.
Our aim is that the Diocese of Sheffield should be seen as
a key partner in protecting and sustaining the environment
by the other environmental organizations in the region.
We will achieve this by supporting churches and individuals
in reflecting on God’s purpose for Creation and taking
life-changing action which will improve our stewardship of
the environment.
We have regular meetings to organize activities and enjoy
fellowship. Would you like to be part of the group? Contact
Mike Gilbert to find out more Telephone 0114 281 9360 or email mike@thegilberts.f9.co.uk
NEWS
Climate Change, Energy and Politics of the Future.
– The Plan 2050 Lectures: A Report.
Professor Lord Giddens, a Labour peer and former Director of the London school of Economics, gave the third and final lecture at Sheffield Cathedral in the series Climate Change, Energy and the Politics of the Future to an attentive audience of over 200 last Wednesday evening.
In the first lecture on 6 October Dr Alison Cooke who chaired the UK 2050 Energy Plan working party of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, not an organisation given to flights of fancy, said that a zero or very low carbon energy supply was technically feasible by 2050 given the political will.
In the second on 21 October Ann Pettifor, co-founder of the Jubilee 2000 Debt campaign, gave powerful reasons why the government should not cut public expenditure which would only deepen the depression but should spend wisely to build a low carbon economy. One comment heard after the lecture: ”Why can’t she become Chancellor of the Exchequer?”
Lord Giddens rounded this off by advocating an attitude of ‘utopian realism’ saying that we cannot scare people into the ways of living that are needed to counter climate change. As he said “Martin Luther King did not stir people to action by proclaiming, ‘I have a nightmare!’”. The life style changes required would be demanding but would make life better.
The lectures were inspired by the Plan 2050 campaign which is demanding an energy policy that adds up and is asking our politicians to give us the numbers. The Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Steven Croft, said: “Many people are asking what they can do about climate change. Plan 2050 gives us a way of taking clear, precise, well targeted action.” (Plan 2050 details at www.omegaclimate.wordpress.com/ ) |
NEWS: The Diocese of Sheffield is invited to join in the Carbon Fast
The Diocesan Environment Group and the World Development Adviser would like to invite churches to join in a Carbon Fast this Lent. We are producing a Carbon Fast for the Diocese of Sheffield based on the 2009 Tearfund Carbon Fast, as we feel that this is the best introduction to the Carbon Fast. The Carbon Fast calls on church members to cut their carbon emissions rather than give up chocolate for Lent.
There are simple, energy-saving actions for each day of Lent, beginning with removing one light bulb from a prominent (but safe!) place in the home and living without it for 40 days.
Bishop Steven writes: “All of us need to think more deeply about the energy we use and the effects on other people. I commend the Diocese of Sheffield’s Carbon Fast for Lent 2010 as a really helpful and imaginative way to focus on the effects of climate change on the world’s poorest people”.
The Carbon Fast was launched globally in 2008 by the Bishop James Jones of Liverpool and Bishop Richard Chartres of London. The Diocese of Sheffield version of the Fast will be on the Diocesan website by Thursday.
Taking part in the Carbon Fast will result in an estimated 25 per cent cut in average emissions over this period and the hope is that taking part in the Carbon Fast will encourage people to make some of the changes permanent.
If your church would like to join in with other churches in the Diocese then please join in the Carbon Fast as your priority.
If your church does decide to take part in the Carbon Fast and you traditionally hold a Lent Appeal (through Lent Boxes, Jars of Grace, retiring collections or other means) then we would encourage you to consider the Church of England’s Climate Justice Fund as your chosen recipient for 2010. The Climate Justice Fund, administered by Tearfund for the Church of England as part of the “Shrinking the Footprint” initiative, has been established to help Anglican Provinces in the developing world cope with the effects of consequences of climate change that are affecting them now.
The original idea behind the fund was that churches would make a (very rough) estimate of their carbon footprint and donate to the Climate Justice Fund in recognition of the fact, even if the developed world manages to reduce its carbon footprint by 80%, climate change has already caused disruption and suffering to the poorest and most vulnerable people across the world. A Lent Appeal focussed on the Climate Justice Fund marries well with the Carbon Fast – church members can be encouraged to donate money saved by the reduction in their energy usage. You can find out more about the Climate Justice Fund at www.climatejusticefund.org
A message from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Rowan Williams:
"The Climate Justice Fund is a creative and practical response to the concerns raised at the Lambeth Conference by bishops speaking first hand about the devastating impact of climate change on their communities; in some instances threatening their Provinces' very survival.
"We need to reduce our carbon footprint. We also need to address the major challenges being faced by our brothers and sisters especially in the south. Climate change is not just about science; it's about justice. By contributing to the fund we can make good some of the damage that our excessive consumption is having on the poorest”.
We look forward to journeying with you this Lent. If you have any questions then do contact Jackie Butcher, World Development Adviser: ja_butcher@yahoo.co.uk, 0114 2621293.
The details of the fast can be downloaded by clicking either of the following links:
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