The crises shaking our world this year have reminded us of the urgent need to heal our relationships with each other and the natural world. Fittingly, the theme for Season of Creation this year is “Jubilee for the Earth: New Rhythms, New Hope”. Many in this Renew Our World community have been thinking deeply about the opportunities COVID-19 provides for reshaping the future.
Rachel is the Environmental Coordinator for the Anglican Church of Southern Africa which includes South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, Angola and Mozambique. She also coordinates the Green Anglicans movement, is secretary to the Anglican Communion Environmental Network and sits on the steering group for the Season of Creation.
The Season of Creation is an annual celebration of prayer and action to honour and protect God’s good creation. Each year, tens of thousands of Christians participate in a range of events throughout the season, from prayer services to rubbish clean-ups to advocacy actions.
Dave is an Ordained Minister in the Church of England and Director of Theology for A Rocha International, a network of Christian organisations working in nature conservation across the world. A Rocha International have recently joined the Renew Our World community and played a key role in crafting the Wildlife Statement that calls for a rethink in our relationship with nature.
Renew Our World has today called for more protection for the Atewa Forest in Ghana. The ancient forest is currently under pressure from Sinohydro requiring repayment of loans with mined bauxite. If the mining goes ahead then the drinking water of up to five million people living in downstream catchments in and near the capital Accra may be undrinkable. The mining will also lead to significant loss of biodiversity.
Dave is an Ordained Minister in the Church of England and Director of Theology for A Rocha International, a network of Christian organisations working in nature conservation across the world. A Rocha International have recently joined the Renew Our World community and played a key role in crafting the Wildlife Statement that calls for a rethink in our relationship with nature.
Lindsay grew up in a small, rural town in northwest Iowa where she has lived most of her life.
“It’s very agricultural and largely conservative,” says Lindsay. “The church is the centre of the community; they say there are churches on every corner. We have several Christian schools, too. So Christianity is just kind of the thread of everyone's life there.”
In May 2019, we joined the Rubbish Campaign, calling on Coca-Cola, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever to take responsibility for their plastic waste in poorer countries. We want to take a moment to say a massive thank you to everyone who has played their part so far, from signing petitions to reducing single-use plastic to praying and marching for systemic change.
Across the world, we are also seeing the Renew Our World community step out in compassion for those who are suffering.
Ramesh Babu, Executive Director of the Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (EFICOR), and Reverend Martin Kapenda, National Coordinator of Micah Zambia, share how their organisations are responding to give hope amidst the crisis.
The team at Eco Brixs are on a mission to create sustainable solutions to lift people out of extreme poverty in Uganda.
Founder and CEO, Andy Bownds, shares how Eco Brixs is creatively tackling plastic waste and currently responding to COVID-19 in Uganda.
The near-constant stream of news about this novel coronavirus, COVID-19, informs us all of its ever-unfolding yet uncertain health and economic impacts.
