The last month has seen so many changes including weddings and baptisms on the increase in church (which of course is marvellous experience for a second year curate!), an exciting UEFA EURO Final and relaxation of COVID precautions. I’m not sure if the latter is such a great idea though, and, at the time of writing, I have no idea where we’ll be in a few weeks, but looking around the globe, relaxation has been associated with increased case numbers and hospitalisations, and worryingly also in vaccinated individuals. Our church PCC has therefore decided to proceed along quite a precautionary path, and after a very collaborative PCC Zoom discussion on the 19th July, we were all aligned with this view. More on this in the magazine!
Finally, we’ve also been able to bask in long awaited sunny days, and for Cheshire we have been seeing extra-ordinary temperatures for this time of year. The first ever extreme weather warning issued by the UK meteorological office came out as temperatures soared up to 33 degrees Celsius. We have also been shocked by the floods and loss of life and homes in Western Germany which was preceded by record temperatures in North America. As I said to one of my work colleagues, we think we are untouched by these events until they start to come closer to home, and climate change is, of course, very much on the Church of England’s radar. The General Synod has set new targets for all parts of the church to work to become carbon “net zero” by 2030 and in Great Budworth, we will also be thinking of creative solutions in our Deanery.
We are all being encouraged to take bold action on climate change in advance of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October -12th November. The culmination of this campaign is a national Climate Sunday event on Sunday 5th September 2021, to share church commitments and pray for bold action and courageous leadership at COP26. Here at Great Budworth we will also be holding a special All Age service with a “This Time Tomorrow” interview format and a couple of guests, <span style="font-size: 1rem;">but thinking about where we will be in terms of our environment in 10 years’ time rather than ”tomorrow.”</span>
For Christians, environmental concern runs deep. We know that God created the world, and that we are only stewards or trustees of God’s creation. As the Bible says “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1).
As we enjoy the rest of the summer with friends and family, I pray for good health, many blessings, caring hearts for the people and animals who share our lives, and a recharging of the batteries before we all enter the season of “back to school.”
Happy Summer,
Rev Dr Jenny