Christian Faith and Climate Change

Note: This course has now finished.

Introduction | Themes and Topics in the Series

Introduction

Switch off your lights, heating, TV and computer, put on a woolly jersey and come and join us for a Bible Study discussion series for Lent.

The series starts on Thursday 7th February at 1930, then continues at the same time on subsequent Thursdays, with the last two sessions on Thursday 13th March. There will be no session on 21st February.

Based on resources from the Methodist Relief and Development Fund.

Themes and Topics in the Series

Session 1

Climate change is a social justice issue and calls us to commitment and sacrifice. Here we are challenged to "give up" something for Lent - something that causes greenhouse gas emissions. One person might decide to get to work without their car; another to halve the duration of their morning shower. Token gestures really, but are they easy?

Session 2

The earth as God's creation. The Genesis stories can provoke us to think about our duty to care for the earth as stewards. We explore how this can lead us to protect the planet from global warming.

Session 3

The Sabbath is a great biblical theme, which extends to giving the land a regular rest. We explore issues of farming, land-use and how this can reduce or exacerbate greenhouse gas emissions. We also touch on Fair Trade, food miles, and Jesus' criticisms of the misuse of the Sabbath.

Session 4

Jesus told some stunning parables about greed. We reflect on these, and ask how much greed and generosity shape the world's economy and industry. We also explore how to engage with our politicians to effect major change in the way the world is run.

Session 5

Jesus preached that the way into the kingdom of God is via "repentance" - a word that literally means "an about-turn". We look at his words in their first century context and ask what repentance might mean today as human beings put the planet's climate at risk.

Session 6

Finally, we read about the covenant God made with people. We ask, what sort of covenant could we make with God and one another today, as a commitment to helping humanity shake free of practices that endanger earth's climate.

Please download a flyer for this event and feel free to pass it on. The flyer is 42kb and is in PDF format so requires Adobe Reader or similar.

Getting to the church