God made the earth and it was very good (Genesis 1:26). God made humans as an integral part of Creation, to live in close relationship with God, neighbour and the earth. But all three links have been disrupted and we now find our Earth in a state of emergency.
The fifth mark of mission of the Anglican Communion calls us:
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth
On 28th November 2020 our Diocesan Synod resolved: “that this Synod, reflecting on our Christian commitment to live as lights for Christ and care for God’s creation,
- declares a climate and ecological emergency, and
- supports the 2020 General Synod motion for all parts of the Church to reach ‘Net Zero’ carbon emissions by 2030, and
- requests the Diocesan Environment Working Group to produce a detailed updated Environment and Climate Justice Policy to submit to the July 2021 Diocesan Synod for approval, and
- commits to the A Rocha UK Eco Church and Eco Diocese programmes.
In seeking to live as Lights for Christ, we commit to making the radical changes required to respond to the climate and ecological emergencies and to caring for the created world in a way that brings glory to God and justice for all.
The climate emergency has severe global implications for health and wellbeing. The Covid pandemic has exacerbated this, especially for those already vulnerable due to poverty and inequality….As we rebuild our society and God’s world after the pandemic, let’s build back greener. We owe it to the God who is both our Creator and our Redeemer, our Advent Hope and our Judge.
The Rt Revd Dr Pete Wilcox, Bishop of Sheffield November 2020