Today we had Guillermo Kerber from the World Council of Churches to talk to us, who began by saying that people in countries in the global North need converting on matters environmental, but so do people in the global South. We all need a Christian call to act in ethical ways with respect to the environment, where the victims of climate change are given priority. He told us of the plea that they had heard from the church in Tuvalu, one of the Pacific Islands under threat from sea level rise. Where are these people to go? No-one seems to want them, and yet they have to leave their island as it becomes more and more uninhabitable.
Yet the challenge for the European churches is to take a lead because we have this network and the resources, but we need to use our influence to look beyond Europe to the places where climate change is affecting people now.
We had greetings from the Council of European Catholic Bishops' Conferences.
Alfredo Abreu from A Rocha International told us all about A Rocha's work in conservation, and stressed the things which make A Rocha distinctive:
- Christian
- Conservation
- Community
- Cross-cultural
- co-operation
Gary Wilton, the Church of England representative to the EU and Canon of the Cathedral in Brussels talked to us about his responsibilities in Europe, which involves getting to know as many people as he possibly can! He meets MEPs, those in the European Council and the Commission, and urged us to write to our MEPs to get them to vote in favour of the EU proposal on climate change: time is of the essence to get this into EU law. It is ambitious politically ( although not particularly ambitious according to the science), so it is important to get it onto the statute book before it gets watered down or forgotten about.
The working groups reported back today, after their deliberations, and those will be posted up on the ECEN website in due course (www.ecen.org), and we had more time for hearing about practical projects that people are engaged in:
- The Orthodox Church is leading in the field of awareness raising on the scale of the environmental problems we face, with Patriarch Bartholemew organising international seminars on climate change, biodiversity and water issues for many delegates, taking people to different places in the world to see for themselves the extent of the problems.
- The Evangelical Czech Brethren church now has an environmental commission working on these issues; they also have centres for ecological education providing education for school children , rest and recouperation for those involved in environmental education, and education for theological students about environmental issues. They use the arts and music in their education for sustainability.
- Swiss Protestant Church Federation have produced a book outlining the values which underly sustainability, and then developing ways of living based on these values. The book covers bery practical things, but also identifies some of the more difficult issues, such as the grief expected when people experience a loss of expectations in lifestyles. They also have a centre in Berne which provides help and advice for those wanting to conduct audits of their churches, and training for those responsible for church buildings.
- The Church of Sweden has set up a climate justice compensation scheme, asking people to compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions by contributing to a fund. Half of the fund will be used to invest in local renewable or energy efficiency schemes, and the other half used on projects or disaster relief in the global South.
- The World Council of Churches Eastern Europe office had sent a representative to the conference and he was telling us about the sustainable communities projects they are beginning to develop.
Another full day! Lots of talking! But there was lots of laughter too, plenty of wine and lots of discussion. Lots of information sharing, and people getting to know each other...
We're all on our way back tomorrow - another marathon epic on the coach for Ruth and myself. I don't know of anyone else who came by coach. We must be the only hardies! Important to take a stand, though, I think!
