Archive: April 2021 - Operation Noah

Operation Noah’s annual Supporters’ Event is taking place online in 2021. Consider the call to prophetic action and voice in advance of COP26.

Register now

At Operation Noah we believe the Church has an important role to play in tackling the climate crisis. In the lead up to COP26 we need to call for the strongest possible action on the climate crisis. COP26, a meeting of world leaders to discuss the climate crisis, is being hosted in the UK. Come and find out what you and your church can do to make the most of this historic opportunity.

Speakers

We are delighted to welcome Chine McDonald and Josh Tregale to speak to us this year.

Chine McDonald is Head of Public Engagement at Christian Aid. She edited Rage and Hope: 75 Prayers for a better world, a Christian Aid book which was published in March 2021. Her second book, God is not a white man and other revelations, will be published in May. Chine will talk about Christian Aid’s work on climate change and the perspective of black British Christians, as well as her wider work equipping the Church to be a voice for justice.

Rev Dr Dave Gregory is a former President of the Baptist Union. He convenes the Baptist Union Environment Network and is Director of the John Ray Initiative, a charity with a vision to bring together scientific and Christian understandings of the environment in a way that can be widely communicated and lead to effective action. He is also a former meteorologist at the Met Office, Hadley Centre and the European Weather Centre and is also involved in helping churches engage with science, particularly through Messy Church Does Science. Dave will speak about the Baptist Union’s recent decision to make a divestment commitment. The decision was passed by an overwhelming majority of 98.5% after Dave co-authored a proposal to divest as a practical commitment towards climate justice ahead of COP26.

Josh Tregale is a young climate activist who believes that the prophetic voice of the Church is a powerful statement. He will talk about his experiences of being Campaign Co-ordinator for MOCK COP26. The online conference was organised by young people and aimed to improve on the original plans for COP26 after it was delayed by a year. Josh is also International Campaign Coordinator at Teach the Future, a campaign for climate education.

Breakout rooms

When you register you will be able to choose one of the following workshops:

• Why and how should churches divest from fossil fuels with James Buchanan and Bokani Tshidzu of Operation Noah’s Bright Now campaign
• Hold a Climate Sunday in the lead-up to COP26 with James Anthony from Climate Sunday
• Camino to COP with Melanie Nazareth of Christian Climate Action
• Science and the Bible with Revd Dr Darrell Hannah, Operation Noah’s Chair
• Eco anxiety and pastoral care with Revd Grace Thomas
• Climate and racial justice with Sarah-Jane Nii-Adjei from Christian Aid
• Support the Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) Bill with Jane King from the CEE Bill Alliance
• The Climate Emergency Toolkit with Hannah Bowring of Tearfund

Spaces on each workshop are limited and will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Register for your free place

Paul Heppleston is walking 300 miles in the lead up to COP26 to raise funds for Operation Noah and Hope for the Future. He told us more about his plans.

‘Walking to Glasgow’ is me walking, virtually, home to the city from which my family originated. My home is 300 miles from the city, so my plan is to walk a total of 300 miles in my local area by mid-October.

I am totally committed to working towards COP26 in various ways, especially using Operation Noah materials and expertise and the support of Hope for the Future.

I currently live in the Peak District and recently began to log my walks around the local area. My particular route to Glasgow – a virtual goal of course – is 300 miles from my house to the SEC Armadillo, the building where COP26 will take place. Afetr that, I shall hopefully be in Glasgow for 3-4 weeks, including being there during COP26. I want to be involved in as much as I can in the conference during those 12 days, perhaps with the Iona Community (to which I belong) and other climate groups who will also be present and active at that time.

I originally planned this as a personal project of symbolic commitment, but people have kindly suggested that I use it to raise funds. I am going to share the proceeds 50-50 with Operation Noah and Hope for the Future, two organisations committed to action against climate degradation and springing from the Christian faith which I share.

You can make a donation to Paul’s efforts on his JustGiving page.

Jane Lavery is volunteering with Operation Noah as part of her university placement while she studies for an MA in Theology, Ecology and Ethics at the University of Roehampton. She is hoping that during her placement she will answer the question: to what extent does faith inform activism?

I have been aware of a palpable faith in places like Lourdes or Medjugorje where people’s belief in a transcendent God who will perform miracles is intense; however, I feel the faith of those involved in Operation Noah is of a different dimension. As Ruth Jarman, a member of the team, stated following her involvement in a protest: ‘Faith is a bit pointless unless it is lived. … In the face of the desecration of God’s good creation that is happening now … I cannot walk by. In the face of the mass starvation that will happen when temperatures rise … I cannot walk by.’ She quotes Dietrich Bonhoeffer: ‘Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not find us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.’

Here is a lived faith that is prepared to stand up and be counted in the face of adversity; it may possibly be described as a form of martyrdom in the name of God’s love – and therefore what should be the love of the faithful – for all creation. It is possibly a belief that humans work alongside God as God performs miracles.

I am working with the Bright Now team, which is currently focused on helping churches disinvest from fossil fuels. One of the first tasks I was given was to read some of the literature they have produced: 

• Church investments in major oil companies
• Divest your church: how to guide

I found the first particularly fascinating; how the major oil companies are being disingenuous in their commitment to the Paris Agreement, although they first realised several decades ago the impact of global warming through burning fossil fuels.  I find it incredible that profit is considered more important than the lives of people, not to mention the polluting effect of their products on our beautiful world. It also concerns me that while many individuals are making great efforts to stop their personal reliance on fossil fuels, large international companies are not, and it is they who are the major polluters.

Another concern is the seeming lack of long-term plans to provide clean, green methods of transport across the globe. Although electric cars are becoming more accessible there are issues with the mining of lithium for the batteries and it would seem that there is little long-term co-ordinated strategy.

In Laudato Si, Pope Francis promulgates the need for ecological conversion.  But this is not just for individuals; in talking about the importance of technological and economic cooperation he says ‘environmental protection cannot be assured solely on the basis of financial calculations of costs and benefits’, (#190) and ‘A technological and economic development which does not leave in its wake a better world and integrally higher quality of life cannot be considered progress’ (#194).  It is to be hoped that more extractive industries will come to understand the wisdom of these words.

Operation’s Noah’s annual Supporters’ Event

SAVE THE DATE:

Wednesday 9th June

10:30am-12:30pm

Online

Theme COP26: the Church’s call to prophetic action and voice

Please put this date in your diary and expect inspiring speakers and thought-provoking workshops! More information will follow shortly on our website, in our newsletter and on social media.