The Rt Rev James Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool, is urging people to cut carbon for the sake of the poor.
Appearing on the Church of England’s online Advent calendar www.whywearewaiting.com for December 10th, Bishop James reflects on the Church of England’s Climate Justice Fund (www.climatejusticefund.org).
He prays that the world leaders in Copenhagen can agree to make a positive impact on climate change, and encourages people to contribute to the Climate Justice Fund, which aims to help those in countries such as Uganda and Congo who are feeling the effects of climate change.
Tens of thousands have taken up the challenge to ‘tread gently’ in step with the UN Climate Change talks at Copenhagen by visiting the Advent calendar in the 10 days since it opened. Current figures stand at more than 30,000 viewings.
With the theme Ready Steady Slow, each door of the calendar opens onto a video story, challenge, prayer and reflection from church leaders and 20 CofE dioceses and agencies.
The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd John Pritchard, said: “I’m delighted that so many people are logging on to hear the stories and take up the challenges to ‘tread gently’ this Advent.
“With Copenhagen upon us, it’s hard to imagine a more timely moment to slow down and consider our care for God’s creation. In common with many Christians, I am praying for our world leaders to be brave rather than cautious, prophetic rather than defensive. In the meantime, we can all make a difference at a local level by our more thoughtful stewardship of the earth.”
This Sunday, the Archbishop of Canterbury will preach at an ecumenical service at the Lutheran Cathedral in Copenhagen – Dr Williams reflected on the climate change talks in a special message on the calendar on Advent Sunday (Nov 29).
At the end of the high profile service in Copenhagen churches across the world will ring their bells in support of an agreement at the talks. Canterbury Cathedral will ring a Quarter Peal of about 1260 changes and many other churches across the country will also take part.
The launch videocast for the calendar includes a challenge from Archbishop Tutu as well as messages from International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander and the Archbishop of York.
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