Letter to Church of Ireland Gazette, 2 June 2016


I wish to express my thanks to the Gazette for the excellent coverage of the General Synod in Dún Laoghaire (20th May issue). Well done to all concerned.

Recently, after our evening Café Church, I was talking to some young people about General Synod. They wanted to know if the hierarchy of the Church of Ireland actually listen to ordinary people.

I was able to share my experience from the last two years. I assured them that the Executive of the Representative Church Body (RCB) actually do listen during debate and can respond when a strong moral argument is presented.

The moral argument to divest from fossil fuel companies was presented at last year's General Synod. Afterwards, two dioceses passed motions calling on the RCB to divest from all fossil fuels within five years. The debates on the motions stressed the severe impact that greenhouse gas pollution and climate change are having on the world's poor.

The RCB listened and responded. They divested from coal, increased investments in renewable energy and drafted a policy on climate change (http://bit.ly/CoIPCC).

However, the policy states that fossil fuel investments will continue to offer profits for many years to come and therefore the RCB will not divest more broadly. This is despite clear warnings from the United Nations and Christian charities that the impact on the poor from climate change will be catastrophic.



The Church of Ireland is continuing to invest in a polluting industry that is causing climate chaos, will create millions more refugees, and kills 7 million people a year from air pollution.

We need to raise our ambition and develop a plan for complete divestment from fossil fuels by 2020. This is an opportunity to take a lead, speak prophetically to society and call for change. I hope the RCB will reconsider its policy.

I told the young people mentioned earlier that the RCB does listen but, to be heard, we need to speak up. We need to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

I hope that more parishioners, young and old will raise their voice - it will be heard.


Comments

John OC said…
Stephen,

Interesting letter.
I wonder in 20 years time will you feel the same.

"We need to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves."
Just to be clear - you aren't speaking for me (and many other engineers).

Regards - John
8:52 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Care for Creation - new growth in Ireland

Image
It is been quite a year for Care for Creation in Irish Churches, perhaps it could even be called a season of new growth. And it all came about because of two teenage girls speaking passionately. Tori and Isobella from Mullingar Parish in county Meath spoke for a few minutes at the Irish Churches Creation Care conference and captured the hearts of the audience and explained what creation care is all about.  You can see the moment below, Their project Lighten Our Darkness by Numbers is a youth-led response to climate change. They are educating church goers, engaging communities, building bridges to businesses, and enhancing biodiversity in church graveyards.   This short talk from the girls had a deep impact on the Archbishop of Armagh, and he spoke about it at his presidential address in General Synod.  Archbishop John McDowell said, We need to do what that group of young people from Westmeath are doing. That is, to work on ways of inspiring and equipping parishes t...
Read more

Speech to General Synod 2022

Image
Photo from Stephen Spillane The support from the RCB to parishes, dioceses and cathedrals during the Covid-19 emergency was most welcome. It helped us worship in difficult at times. May I suggest we use this model of support to respond to other emergencies too. The World Health Organisation said in October last year that, “the single biggest health threat facing humanity” is Climate change. We must take decisive action. I want to thank the RCB for leading the way by divesting and supporting the Creation Care Conference in April.  But it is also up to every diocese, every parish, and every one of us to take action. We need a grassroots movement to transform our churches and our lives for a sustainable future. And church leaders, you might need to sow some fresh seed to help the grass roots grow. I think the RCB can support this movement by responding to the Climate Emergency, just as it did with Covid. For example, How many of you clergy have lived in a cold and draf...
Read more

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland to vote on fossil fuel divestment

Image
  Photo by  Lukasz Szmigiel  on  Unsplash There have been a number of very positive statements from the PCI in the last few months on climate change, and today there is an opportunity for action to stop funding fossil fuels. The church's decision to support The Climate Sundays initiative is really positive. The moderator is encouraging congregations across Ireland to set aside one Sunday in October as `Climate Sunday' to focus on God's creation and humanity's responsibility to be good stewards of it. Rev Dr David Bruce also produced a Climate Conversation video to outline briefly some of the theological reasons why Christians should take climate change seriously and care for creation. This is all very welcome. Another key moment will be today, Tuesday 5th October, when the General Assembly will vote on a motion to divest from fossil fuels. It aims to fully divest from fossil fuel production companies that it holds - that's £5m in BP, Shell and Total - and to engag...
Read more