“When the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, you will realize that you cannot eat money.” (Native American proverb)
It was reported on 30th September that the Copernicus Marine Service had released the ninth edition of the Copernicus Ocean State Report (OSR9), said to be:
“… an annual assessment of the condition and state of the ocean and seas, on a European and on a global scale.”
The report highlights findings showing that every part of the ocean is now affected by what the UN has called a “triple planetary crisis.” It was further reported that:
“The planetary crisis consists of three main spheres: climate change, loss of biodiversity, and pollution.”
On 2 October it was reported that tea farmers in Kenya were struggling to pay medical bills as the climate crisis is having a detrimental impact on the size of their crops. Meanwhile, nearer to home and also on 2October, it was reported that, according to a report by the conservation organisation Tara Seal Research, not a single harbour seal pup in the Tees Estuary had survived this year.
These are just three of the countless stories from around the world documenting the damage that humans are doing to the natural world.
Green Christian press release
It is against this background, that Green Christian has issued a statement bemoaning the fact that while over two-thirds of churches surveyed continue to hold harvest festivals, “the practice appears far less common in some of the churches that have seen the greatest growth in recent years.”
Green Christian has responded to this decline of interest in harvest festival services among newer churches by warning that, “disregarding Harvest traditions in Britain’s growing churches dishonours God’s creation and disrespects farmers.”
Honouring creation
Tim Cooper, Emeritus Professor of Sustainable Design and Consumption at Nottingham Trent University, who led the research, expressed concern:
“While Harvest Festival remains a mainstay in the Church of England calendar, it is worrying that the practice is less common in churches which have been expanding in recent years.
“At a time when the effects of climate change and loss of biodiversity are increasingly apparent, Harvest services provide an opportunity for Christians to reflect on God’s provision, show gratitude, think about our food choices and farming practices, and act to reverse the harm that we are causing. The tradition also serves as a reminder to respect and pray for the vital work of farmers.
“The promise of heaven doesn’t allow Christians to opt out of our human responsibilities while on this earth. Churchgoers of all backgrounds and traditions claim to care for God’s creation. But if we make choices in our food and farming practices that are not sustainable, we lack environmental integrity and dishonour the creation that God loves.”
Bringing science and religion together to tackle environmental problems
There are perhaps two ways of seeing nature; something simply to be exploited or something of which we are an integral part.
It is the former view, which many people believe was prominent in western society for many decades, that has led us into our various environmental crises. It is the latter view, which is being adopted by many people in society today, including in a lot of churches, who see it as the only way to truly deal with the existential crises which assail us, especially in the area of climate change. Indeed, it has been argued that there has been in recent decades the development of a religious ecology or ‘ecotheology.’
Stanislaw Rabiej from the University of Opolski, has gone as far as to say:
“A striking example of this process is the papal encyclical Laudato si’ dedicated to caring for the common home. This religious document by the Bishop of Rome was described by the media as a “Green Encyclical.” It reminds us that the views of St. Francis of Assisi from over 800 years ago are highly relevant nowadays. The destruction of the natural environment has to be seen as an attack on the work of the Creator. This includes not only spoiling the climate, but also the loss of biodiversity, the construction of giant dams and many other economic ventures. The encyclical reminds Christians that they must take care not only for themselves and others, but also for all the works of the Creator. The Pope appeals more for efficiency of actions than ensuring oneself a clear conscience.”
It was then reported in early October that Francis’ successor, Pope Leo XIV had strongly criticised those who are minimising the “increasingly evident” impact of rising temperatures in his first major statement on climate change. Leo reemphasised the words of his predecessor Pope Francis, by hitting out at individuals who “ridicule those who speak of global warming.”
It was further noted that, “Pope Leo also called for greater action from citizens the world over on climate change, saying there was no room for indifference or resignation.”
A similar way of thinking has become prevalent in many other denominations throughout the Christian church, as evidenced by the growth of ecumenical organisations such as A Rocha and Green Christian, and in other major world religions.
One of the most interesting thinkers in the area of ecotheology was Thomas Berry. He encouraged us to beware of technology and its destructive capability, an issue which we can see happening in front of our eyes today with the development of AI and its potentially disastrous use of water.
Thomas Berry argued that we should use technology to protect nature, so that science and a growing spirituality about protecting the environment would be working together to ensure that as humans we still have a habitable home in 100 years’ time.
Going forward
In the final analysis it seems to me that Green Christian is correct to highlight the importance of reflecting on harvest, and remembering those whose harvest might be failing due to the Climate Crisis. This time of year is an opportunity for churches across the country to remember the importance of our food supply and also to remember those across the world, in areas such as Kenya and the Sahel in North Africa, who are not getting the harvests that they once did due to Climate Change. This has to be the most important of our tasks as humans as we go forward through the 21st century.
As Thomas Berry so eloquently put it:
“The natural world is the larger sacred community to which we belong. To be alienated from this community is to become destitute in all that makes us human. To damage this community is to diminish our own existence”
