In this episode of the Chester Box podcast, Archdeacon Ian Bishop is joined by co-chairs of the diocesan Environment Forum, the Revd Joe Kennedy and the Revd Mike Loach, and the Revd Debbie Dalby, curate at Grange and member of the Environment Forum.
They talk about the season of Lent and the diocesan campaign devised by the Environment Forum to raise awareness about some of the environmental issues we face and how we can play our part in resolving them.
The Revd Mike Roach, co-chair of the Environment Forum says: "I've campaigned as a Christian environmentalist for many years and this has always been based on a very simple premise - that if we are to love God and love each other, then we are compelled to honour God's 'good' creation and the impact of our behaviour on brothers and sisters around the world. We cannot fulfil this great commandment of Jesus if we are apathetic about the climate crisis unfolding all around us."
Explaining why he has a heart for this issue, co-chair of the Environment Forum the Revd Joe Kennedy says: "I sat down for coffee with one of the bishops from our Melanesian Link a few years ago, and he told me that global warming and rising sea levels are today causing many people in his diocese to lose their homes and their livelihoods. Although I was aware of the statistics and the graphs, I remember my feeling of shock when he told me this - it brought to life for me the need for us as Christians to address the seriousness and urgency of this issue."
The Revd Debbie Dalby, curate in Grange and passionate member of the Environment Forum, says: "The sense of being part of God’s ongoing creation is one of my greatest delights. With that delight there is tremendous responsibility yet we over-look the clear messages that God shares with us each day through Scripture and the cries of our natural world in crisis. We need to act now and all our days to protect and maintain God's immeasurable gift, it isn’t an optional extra but an imperative of our faith."
Resources mentioned in the podcast
The Lent campaign from the Diocese of Chester
Church of England energy footprint tool
Caring for God's Acre, a charity specialising in the rejuvenating of churchyards