‘Traditionally, Christians commit themselves to repentance and renewed faith in Jesus Christ on Ash Wednesday,’ said David Atkinson, Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Southwark. ‘We must live out that faith in relation to our damaging consumer economy, over-dependence on fossil fuels and the devastation we, as a species, are inflicting on God’s world. We believe that responsible care for God’s creation is foundational to the Gospel and central to the church’s mission.’

The Declaration is framed around seven biblical themes and argues that, to be a Christian is to accept the call to radical discipleship and to work through the implications for church life of a real change in lifestyle. In 1934 the Church took a stand with the Barmen Declaration which rejected Nazism.  The lead author, Karl Barth, had guts.  He mailed the declaration to Hitler personally.  The authors believed that the subordination of the church to the Nazi state was a confessional issue, an issue which touched the very heart of faith, not something that they could politely disagree about. Operation Noah believes climate change to be a confessional issue of similar magnitude.

The declaration affirms that God wants a richly abundant earth.  It states that now we know the dangers of climate change, repentance is the responsibility of every Church and every believer.  It argues that the challenges facing us are not merely economic and scientific but are moral and spiritual as well, and that we must hold our governments and corporations to account.

Operation Noah is encouraging individuals and church fellowships to read through the Ash Wednesday Declaration carefully and then, if willing, to sign the pledge on their website, where you will also find a wide range of resources to support the Declaration: www.operationnoah.org.

CEL have invited a range of thought-provoking speakers and workshop leaders. The keynote speaker in the morning is Jonathon Porritt, founder of Forum for the Future, followed by Tim Gorringe, Professor of Theology at Exeter University.

Paul Bodenham, CEL’s chairman, explains the conference theme : “We are spending the natural capital on which our children depend – not to mention the other species in our trust. Whether oil, metal, water or nutrients, it’s time to leave it in the ground and become treasurers, not consumers, of the earth. That requires investing in the source of ultimate value: spiritual capital.”

In the afternoon, workshops will explore alternative ways of living leading to a sustainable future for our ravaged world. Tim Gorringe explores the contradiction of infinite growth on a finite planet and transition town thinking. Chris Sunderland from EarthAbbey reflects on the contemplative heart of environmental activism. Jeremy Williams from Breathe suggests a radical change in our consumerist culture is vital to any hope of a sustainable future. Edward Echlin argues small scale, biodiverse, organic food production is not only the best way food growing preserves soil and stabilises climate but is also the most productive. Mark Letcher explores low-carbon living in an overall context of faith. Jonathan Essex asks if democracy can deliver sustainability.

The conference tickets cost £15 (£10 for CEL members). Concessionary price of £5 is offered to students and young people under the age of 25.

Booking forms and further details can be found on http://www.christian-ecology.org.uk/treasure

Unlike many other community growing initiatives Grow Zones equips people to use the power of community growing to grow fruit and vegetables in their own gardens, rather than a shared piece of land. This makes it a much simpler process, with a much quicker and rewarding impact.

The approach is simple. A team gather, share ideas and expertise, and help one another plan their growing season. They then get together for an easy schedule of Saturday morning visits to each others gardens. Everyone brings any useful tools they have for the jobs that morning and something to share for lunch. The host gets everyone to work on tasks they have planned for their garden, and the morning ends with a real sense of accomplishment and a shared meal.

The result is powerful: gardens are transformed and enjoyed; knowledge and expertise are shared; friendships are made and strengthened; and fruit and vegetables are grown like never before.

Last year the anglican church hOME facilitated a Grow Zones team in the spring and the autumn. When asked what was good about Grow Zones for them, those involved commented:

Simple, yet effective. Builds community far more effectively than a discussion group.

Lots of people feel instinctively that they want to make more of their small plot of earth (and get better connected to nature) but don’t know how or where to start. Grow Zones is a simple and fun way to do all that.

As a relatively new person to church, it has been great to get to know people better in a relaxed and informal way.

Working on a shared project with other people brings a group together.  It’s also easy to chat while you work without it feeling ‘forced’.

Grow Zones has helped us grow closer together as a community and closer to the land as we learn how to use it fruitfully.

The Grow Zones Kit helps everyone from seasoned gardeners to beginners to bring people together and start a group. The kit addresses the challenges facing a new grower with little time, little knowledge and little space, and provides all you need to plan and facilitate a team.

The gardening writer and presenter Alys Fowler said about the Grow Zones Kit: “At last, an easy to use guide on how to get a community group up and running. This is a brilliant resource for anyone who wants to gather some like-minded people together to get gardening. Now all you have to do is get out there and garden!”

Why not start a Grow Zones team in your area? Find out more and order a kit at www.growzones.com

Taking place on Saturday 28th April from 10am until 10pm at the Isis Farmhouse Pub & Boathouse in Oxford, there will be speakers, including Peter Owen-Jones, art creation, workshops, folk music, poetry readings, meditation and yoga.

Early Bird Tickets Tickets costing £20 are available until 1st March, and then tickets will be £30 / £25.

Full details and ticket booking at: http://soilandsoul2012.eventbrite.co.uk/

Download poster.

Join Tearfund and churches across the world for the Carbon Fast this Lent – starting on Wednesday 22 February – with daily actions and prayers to help you and your church reduce your emissions.

Whether you’re a nervous novice or a carbon-cutting champion, there’s something in this year’s Carbon Fast for you.

The daily actions focus on weekly themes providing something for all walks of life, including more adventurous actions for carbon-cutting experts who want a challenge and weekly actions who’s like to take things more slowly.

How to take part – three ways

1. Get the actions: Download the actions at www.tearfund.org/carbonfast or order an action guide from resources.tearfund.org or by calling 0845 355 8355.
2. Sign up for Carbon Fast daily emails at www.tearfund.org/carbonfast – these include reflections and prayers and will be sent to you every day during Lent.
3. Follow the Carbon Fast on Twitter – @carbonfast, #carbonfast

Please tell your church or small group too. Look for ways for your church to take part in the Carbon Fast, for example by featuring an action a week. You can order action guides in packs of 5 if you’d like lots to share with your church or group.

It will take place between 10.00 am – 4.00 pm at Reading Friends Meeting House, Church Street, Reading. The event will provide an opportunity for reflection on how we can, as individuals and as a community,  work towards a more sustainable future.

There will be a choice of workshops:

1.     Sustainability – Exploring The Challenges That Face Us, led by John Madeley and John Crosfield
2.     How to make best use of our gardens, a practical workshop, led by Jill Wheatley
3.    A Sustainable Economy; what needs to change in financial systems and in economics, led by Steve Mandel
4.    How Much Money Do We Need? a practical workshop using the JRT Minimum Income Calculator led by Marian McNichol

If you would like to attend, please advise John Crosfield tel 0118 9481557, e-mail  j.crosfield@virgin.net

Here’s what some have already said:

‘I work in the international coal industry which puts more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than any other industry, so I take every opportunity to persuade everyone involved in the industry to reduce its carbon emissions.  This is part of caring for all of God’s creation and everyone on our planet.’

‘I am privileged to work as a Church Governor at my local primary school and have the opportunity of sharing my faith with young children.’

‘I visit the elderly some of whom have dementia. I hope my regular visiting helps them to retain the sense of their own unique value.’

As these sentences suggest Christians offer phenomenal gifts to the world, through activities that are local, national and international.

What do you do?
We are asking people to share a sentence, like the ones above, that sum up how you make a difference. Simply fill in the form below to send us yours.

2012 is an opportunity to celebrate what we are currently doing; inspire one another to embrace new things, and to remember that we are joining in God’s mission, so will find God there.

Here’s a few ways you can be part of the year:

• Reflect and pray together, using the various written publications and resources that will be produced throughout the year, including a six session resource for personal and group reflection, ‘BE the Difference’ (due out March 2012), and ‘Passion for Real Life’, a resource for Holy Week.
• Celebrate ‘Make A Difference Sunday’ during the ‘Month of Sundays’ that is October 2012. We will be producing resources later in the year to enable parishes to celebrate the activities of those in the congregation. Set aside an October Sunday NOW, and begin to think about who and what you would like to celebrate, and how you can thank God and inspire one another.
• Attend the arts-based Making a Difference diocesan festival that will be held on Saturday 27th October 2012. Parishes will be invited to come along, bringing something with them that is symbolic of how they make a difference, so that we can gather these together and make a big celebratory work of art! Keynote speakers include Ann Morisy (author of many books on mission and social action), and Janice Price (Archbishop’s Council Adviser on World Mission).
• Partner with your local school: the Diocesan Board of Education is focusing on Making a Difference too, especially in the academic year beginning in September 2012.
• Revamp your church noticeboard to make sure you are communicating with the world about how you are making a difference in your local community and/or nationally/globally. We will be inviting photographs and running a competition for the best one!

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Share what you do

Use the form below to share a sentence about how you are making a difference.

The Detox is available here. It includes:

• Creative and challenging small group activities, with Bible discussion suggestions
• Inspiration from a daily Lent blog and online talks
• Or read through Consumer Detox by Mark Powley (Zondervan 2010)

Daily blog: www.consumerdetox.wordpress.com
Online talks: www.stgeorgesleeds.org.uk (28th Feb & 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th March)
Sample chapters of Consumer Detox: available on the Zondervan website

“Consumer Detox tackles one of the most important challenges facing Christian discipleship in the west today. If the church took this agenda seriously, it could make a big difference.”

Dr Graham Tomlin, Dean of St Mellitus College, author of The Provocative Church

the 2012 Lent Consumer Detox.

The Detox is attached and available here. It includes:

·         Creative and challenging small group activities, with Bible discussion suggestions

·         Inspiration from a daily Lent blog and online talks

·         Or read through Consumer Detox by Mark Powley (Zondervan 2010)

Would you be willing to help others know about this?

If yes, please forward this email to any churches near you, or to any small group leaders you know. Help us spread the word about the Detox, and join us on the journey this Lent if you can.

“Consumer Detox tackles one of the most important challenges facing Christian discipleship in the west today. If the church took this agenda seriously, it could make a big difference.”

Dr Graham Tomlin, Dean of St Mellitus College, author of The Provocative Church

We hope you can join in. It’s the journey through the wilderness that makes freedom possible. Or, if you like, ‘less stuff more life’.

]]> http://www.earthingfaith.org/2012/02/lent-2012-consumer-detox/feed/ 0 http://www.earthingfaith.org/2012/02/route-around-the-world-17th-march-2012/ http://www.earthingfaith.org/2012/02/route-around-the-world-17th-march-2012/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:24:11 +0000 Admin http://www.earthingfaith.org/?p=3052 The Diocese of London is hosting ‘Route around the World’ – an afternoon hear how communities around the globe suffering from environmental stress and disaster are gaining resilience and building a better future, with a keynote by the Rt Rev Peter Wheatley, Bishop of Edmonton.

Saturday 17th March 2012, 2:00 – 4:30pm at St George’s Church Bloomsbury, Bloomsbury Way, London WC1.

Further details at www.london.anglican.org/EventShow_15932

We heard about Dr Gosler’s visit to Libya and how when the survey put those questioned in a position to spend 100 million Dinars, most Libyans said they would put health at the top of their list of priorities, providing it with an average of 34 per cent of the total budget. Education would receive an average of 27 per cent of the total budget while, perhaps surprisingly, environmental improvements such as tree planting would be given an average eight per cent of the total budget, according to the survey.

Dr Gosler, said: ‘The first National Survey holds many surprises for the world on what the Libyan people want following decades of autocratic rule under the Gaddafi regime. It reveals that there is a great deal of optimism amongst the population about the future of their country. When asked about their spending priorities, health and education came top as you might expect, but the Libyans also seem surprisingly ready to do more on the environment where there is universal concern across all political divides.’

For further information see www.ihs.ox.ac.uk

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Dr Andrew Gosler is Head of the Biological Conservation for the Institute of Human Sciences at the University of Oxford, President of the Oxford Ornithological Society, and Deanery Synod Lay Chair for Cowley. He has recently co-edited Ethno-ornithology – Birds, Indigenous Peoples, Culture and Society.