Giving Up Carbon Emissions for Lent

Two senior bishops are urging people to cut back on carbon for Lent instead of the conventional chocolate or alcohol.

The Bishops of London and Liverpool, Dr Richard Chartres and James Jones, are launching the Carbon Fast at Trafalgar Square with aid agency Tearfund.

They hope to encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint for 40 days.
The scheme aims to raise awareness of global warming to help protect poor communities around the world who are already affected by climate change.

Stark reality
The "fast" involves a simple energy saving action each day, including avoiding plastic bags, insulating the hot water tank and checking the house for draughts.

Bishop Jones, who is vice president of Tearfund, said: "It is the poor who are already suffering the effects of climate change.

"To carry on regardless of their plight is to fly in the face of Christian teaching."

One Tearfund employee will camp outside the charity's offices in Teddington for a week in an attempt to reduce his emissions to that of an average Malawian farmer.

Dr Chartres called for "individual and collective action".

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Erin Church Devotional: peace prize - for a planet in peril

Isaiah 57:18, 19 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him, creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the LORD. "And I will heal them." (NIV)

The world is abuzz today with news of Al Gore winning the International Peace Prize. Whilst I don’t agree with his conclusions about global warming, I’m glad to see him being recognized for his work. For too long, Al Gore remained in the shadows of Bill Clinton and, unfortunately, had his hopes dashed in 2000 because of that connection. He has now emerged as a global warrior on behalf of the planet and it is fitting that he should receive this award because of the awareness that he has brought to this highly controversial subject.

Making peace with the environment is not something that most of us think about, and yet it is a significant part of the stewardship that God has placed upon us. For most of the 20th century, we blighted and blasted the land, sea, and sky with bad industrial processes and weapons of destruction. Instead of living in a clean, peaceable kingdom, we’ve created a polluted monster of a planet that is beginning to grow weary of the demands that we make upon its raw materials and irreplaceable resources.

I am not a geological scientist or educated environmentalist by any means, but I do know that garbage, waste disposal, and pollutants would be a problem in my own home if I didn’t do something about it each week. If Al Gore’s peace prize award gets more people to think about how we can restore the planet, then he deserves all the kudos for this accomplishment. I may not entirely agree with his proposals or politics, but anything that makes this world a cleaner place is better for us all.

Peace, restoration, and healing are important to God – may they also be equally important to us.

Prayer: Father God, forgive us for our foolish ways of taking this planet for granted and ruining some of its irreplaceable beauty. Help us to be better stewards of Your creation. Give us open hearts, educated minds, and willing hands to do all that we can to restore the world and make peace with the environment. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.