On 8 July, members of the General Synod attended a USPG and Christian Aid joint fringe event on the topic of how strengthening the Church’s global connections improves our approach to the climate crisis.
The Bishop of Liverpool, the Right Rev Dr John Perumbalath, led the session. It began with a virtual challenge from Rev’d Rachel Mash - Environmental Coordinator, Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
In a short video, Rachel discussed the challenges that we face because of the climate crisis. She challenged the room to consider the importance of hearing and sharing stories from around the world. By listening to the real-life experiences of our international brothers and sisters, it is difficult to dismiss the impact of climate change. Especially the fact that it is often the people who have contributed the least to the climate emergency, that are suffering most.
The attendees then came together to consider two questions:
1. How are our global links enabling us to hear stories of those who are most affected by climate change?
2. How can we do more to share those stories to strengthen action?
It was encouraging to see much solidarity in the room as attendees agreed that by standing together globally on this issue we can create positive influence at a church and political level.
As a global body, the Church has a crucial role to play in the fight against the climate crisis.
The Rt Revd Olivia Graham, Bishop of Reading summed it up by saying: “It sometimes feels like we shy away from being political but now is the time to be political. We should recognise the power we have as the Church. All Christians have a responsibility to raise awareness on this issue. We have to have a relentless hope that we can recover the discipline of hope on this issue”.
