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How our churches can help face the challenges of climate change was considered as part of the most recent Diocesan Synod, as part of a presentation on the diocese’s strategy to reach carbon net zero: Saving Creation.
The presentation looked to help people understand the context of the climate crisis, and how it affects our mission and ministry, before looking at the resources that have been produced to help our churches think about what they can do.
It was introduced by the Rt Revd Paul Slater, Bishop of Kirkstall, and led by Jemima Parker, Diocesan Environment Officer, and Jack Bacon, Diocesan Communications Officer.
The item opened with a video interview with Professor Piers Forster, Professor of Climate Change at the University of Leeds, and an author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent report.
Professor Forster spoke about how climate change is affecting us all, and what churches can do to help, saying: “The church has a huge role to play in this transformation we’re expecting the world to undergo.
“This transformation will affect every part of our lives, and the church will have to decide if it is going to be at the forefront of that change, and try and lead the way, or just follow on behind.”
The full video can be seen here.
Jemima Parker took Synod members through resources we have produced, including our Churches Toolkit, which is full of links to useful materials to help our churches tackle the big challenges they face.
Jack Bacon walked Synod members through how to use the toolkit, as well as talking about our volumes of church case studies, which help show this work in action at various of our churches across the diocese.
The session ended with a plenary, with useful discussion about the practical difficulties our churches face, especially around our buildings.
To see more on our carbon net zero strategy, please click here.
To see more of what happened at Synod, please click here.