As Scotland comes into the spotlight hosting COP26 – the United Nations climate talks due in Glasgow this November – we are calling on all Scotland’s churches to join the conversation and take action on the climate emergency.
One of the most powerful ways we can encourage change is in talking, listening and telling our stories. Eco-Congregation Scotland has produced “Let’s talk about the climate emergency“, monthly themed resources to help congregations take part in awareness raising conversations about the climate emergency, encouraging everyone to take action.
Throughout March our theme has been Coasts and Seas. Scotland has a beautiful coastline, but marine pollution is now noticeable all along our coasts and in our rivers. Plastic bottles, cigarette butts, cotton buds, crisp bags and sanitary applicators form the top five pollutants found on beaches. Much of this waste enters the food chain.
Fishing is still an important part of the economy and identity of many coastal communities. However, it is not without controversy. Climate change will bring sea-level rises and more extreme weather, which will affect vulnerable parts of Scotland’s coasts and threaten the very existence of some nations and communities across the world.
Join us on Zoom, to talk and reflect on Coasts and Seas – you can download the two March pages on this link, or the full year of “Let’s talk about the climate emergency” resources. Breakout discussions will ensure all taking part in small groups. Now and in coming months – let’s talk about the climate emergency.
For all working in the marine environment, for the protection of the marine environment by all people and by politicians, for all communities and nations affected by increasing sea levels due to climate change.
Jesus, you walked on the shore of Lake Galilee, at a threshold of land and water.
You loved those who worked at that threshold, calling them to come, forgiving them their mistakes, and sending them to share your love.
Rev Jenny Adams Duffus, Spynie and Hopeman Church minister Eco-Congregation Scotland trustee
Church buildings come in lots of different shapes and sizes, historic and modern. How will you know which kind of heating is right for your building? What are the practical issues that need to be thought through in changing a heating systems? What kind of heating system should you install in a new building?
What do you need to change to achieve net zero emissions?
Responding to the Climate Emergency, the October 2020 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland agreed to develop a strategy for the entire organisation to transition both locally and nationally to net zero carbon emissions over the coming decade.
In December 2020, General Synod members of the Scottish Episcopal Church also backed a motion paving the way for a commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Register now
Join us and hear from Andrew MacOwan – Chartered Energy Engineer and the Church of Scotland General Trustees Heating Consultant – as he shares his experience and talks about some of the practical considerations in looking to achieve net zero carbon emissions from church heating systems. There will be time for questions and discussion. Please register at the following link:
Christian Aid Scotland is a key partner of Eco-Congregation Scotland and we are delighted to encourage you to join the Supporter Gathering next week. Christian Aid Ethiopia will be sharing the impact of climate change, locusts and conflict on vulnerable communities.
There will also be a look forward to the COP26 climate talks and how we can all be involved in the fight against climate change. Email to register and receive the joining instructions: edinburgh@christian-aid.org
Scottish Catholic Laity Network What is the hope of COP26? – Professor Jim Skea Thursday 18th February 2021 7.00pm–8.30pm Further information Email to register
Eco-Congregation Scotland is pleased to support the Scottish Catholic Laity Network and invite you to join its Lenten Journey of discernment “to help us imagine the way in which we are being called to prepare a future that gives hope to all the children of our world, and their children’s’ children, and to Mother Earth.”
Opening the series on the hope of COP26, Eco-Congregation volunteer Margret MacPhail will introduce speaker Professor Jim Skea, currently chair of Scotland’s Just Transition Commission and co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III on mitigation of climate change. Margret leads the Eco-Group at St Ninian’s Parish in Professor Skea’s home city Dundee. Please email slaitynetwork@gmail.com to register.
Eco-Chaplaincy open for invitations: however and wherever you are this year!
Rev David Coleman continues his work through coronavirus restrictions, engaging imaginatively with local churches as a visiting digital preacher. Please email the Eco-Chaplain to connect and work with your own church on dates throughout this year.
This coming Sunday 14th February at 7pm we encourage our volunteers and supporters to continue joining Christians in prayer across Scotland.
Read our new monthly briefing on COP26 and how you can get involved.
Register for free and begin your church’s journey as an eco-congregation. Please consider church membership to become more active in the charity and support our Local Network activities – join online.
Please donate if you can, to help support our work and encourage growing interest across Scotland’s churches. If you or others in your church would like to receive this newsletter regularly, please subscribe.
As Scotland comes into the spotlight hosting COP26 in November 2021, it becomes imperative that our churches take action on the climate emergency. One of the most powerful ways we can encourage change is in talking, listening and telling our stories.
Eco-Congregation Scotland has produced ‘Let’s talk about the climate emergency‘ – a pack of resources with monthly themes to help congregations hold awareness raising conversations and encourage everyone to act. The November theme is Our Global Connections.
How we live has a direct impact on climate change and the lives of others. The way we choose to travel, the food we eat, the way we heat our homes, our continuing demands for goods and services and the way we deal with the waste produced all have a direct impact on other people.
Certainly the worst of the changes in weather patterns can be seen in other areas of the world producing severe storms and conversely severe droughts leading to famines and other humanitarian crises:
Pollution of water courses and air as other countries attempt to recycle our rubbish affecting the health of many people.
Effects of global warming on our oceans and on plants and animals threaten the web of life.
Inequalities can be seen too in the ability of countries to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, with less affluent countries struggling to provide basic healthcare, sanitation and access to food.
THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS Matthew 25: 31-46 The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” It’s tough, but this is what we’re faced with. We know what our species is doing. “What you did to the Earth, you did to me!” You can watch our Eco-Chaplain Rev David Coleman reading and reflecting on this passage, also sharing how Pastor Martin may have differentiated sheep and goats…
In this month where leaders from many countries across the globe were to have converged on Glasgow for COP26 to consider how best to address the issue of climate change and agree a way forward working together, how will we respond to ensure a fairer world for current and future generations?
Conversation Starters:
How do you feel when you hear about the effects of climate change on the planet and the effects it has on people’s lives?
As Scotland comes to the forefront of international attention, what message would you like the leaders to take home to their country about what is happening in this country?
Is it easy to adopt the kinds of changes that experts suggest we need to if we are to reduce our impact on the world’s climate?
What makes these easy/ tricky to do? (eg: eating less meat, reducing waste, insulating our homes, using public transport, changing the kinds of energy we use, buying Fairtrade goods)
Do you feel differently about any of these changes in the light of the pandemic? How have the views and behaviour of other people changed?
Join us to talk, pray and reflect on Our Global Connections, to help ensure a fairer world for current and future generations. Breakout discussions will ensure all taking part in small groups. Now and in coming months – let’s talk about the climate emergency. Please register here.
