Proverbs 31:8-9 (NIV) “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
One of the videos we looked at during the Plenty course, was this one, which tells the story of Orbisa, a woman living in northern Ethiopia. She has found herself and her family destitute, because changes in the climate have stopped the rains falling, and made it impossible for her to grow food, and difficult to find water. 20 million people in the Horn of Africa alone are finding themselves similarly unable to support themselves from the land, as they have done for generations, and are facing the reality of having to leave behind everything they have ever known to try and seek work elsewhere.
As we approach the COP26 conference, one of the things I have found most difficult to deal with is not only that people in the developing world will face the worst consequences of climate change, but that it is our behaviours and lifestyles in the developed world which have been, and continue to be directly responsible for them.
Another difficult truth which we faced up to in the Plenty course was that although personal lifestyle changes are helpful, much more significant changes must be made globally if we are to try and keep this planet alive for our children and grandchildren.
However, the last two years have shown that we can make significant changes to our lifestyles very quickly when we want to. Now is our chance to speak out and tell our leaders that we need to see some serious action on climate change.
On Saturday 6th November, there are protests happening all over the world, and conveniently for us, one of them is going to take place in central St Albans. A group of us from St Peter's will be meeting from 11am in the church carpark and walking down together to take part in this peaceful and family-friendly demo outside the council offices, which begins at 11.30am.
If you can join us there, please do. If you'd like to, you can also sign this petition organised by Tear Fund too.
God of love, we know that you stand with the poorest and most marginalised. We pray that you will open our hearts and minds to the injustice which exists in our world, and show us how we can be part of bringing your kingdom of freedom and hope. Amen.
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