Archbishop of Liverpool Malcolm McMahon and Bishop of Liverpool Paul Bayes have each released a video pledge outlining how they will support the Good Food Plan, ahead of a pledge evening in the Metropolitan Cathedral this week.<The event, which was open to everyone from across the life of the city including businesses, community and charity leaders, residents of all ages, employers, workers, volunteers, and anyone interested in learning how to join the #goodfoodliverpool movement.It is hoped the Bishop and Archbishop’s words will pave the way for others to follow suit, with opportunities to make individual, workplace, community or organisational pledges both on the night and afterwards. They aim to create a city where “everyone can eat good food”.Pledge examples include promising to signpost people to where they can access good food, commit to paying all employees a real living wage, start up a new sustainable food business or project, take part in food insecurity screening, volunteer, share resources, or simply start conversations in your community.In his video Bishop Paul (see photo), already a vocal champion of the Real Living Wage and the Right to Food campaign, said: “As Christians, we believe food is a gift given from God to all human beings, not just to some.“That one in every three adults in Liverpool are food insecure – worrying about where they will get enough food to feed their families, skipping meals and at times going hungry – is a burning injustice. We cannot stand by and let this happen.“As a diocese – with a church on the door step of every community – and as an employer, we have a part to play. We will continue to speak out against the root causes of poverty which prevent everyone being able to access good food.”Urging people to join the #goodfoodliverpool movement, he adds: “Friends, when we stand alone this task of tackling injustice may seem too large, but each of us have gifts and talents to bring; when we work together we can bring about real change.”Liverpool is home to three of England’s 10 most economically deprived food districts. Around 32% of adults in in the city are food insecure and just 12% of children aged 11 to 18 eat their five-a-day fruit and veg.
A permanent memorial to unsung pandemic workers and those who have died with Covid-19 will be unveiled in Barnsley later this month.The £210,000 bronze sculpture will be revealed in the town's new Glass Works square on 22 November.Sculptor Graham Ibbeson's artwork, titled Reverence, was paid for by the council and partners.Key workers and bereaved families will be at the ceremony, led by the former Archbishop of York Lord Sentamu.The Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire, Prof Dame Hilary Chapman DBE, will also be at the unveiling.Mr Ibbeson's sculpture depicts ordinary workers, representing those affected by the pandemic.The line "Barnsley's fierce love will hold you forever in its heart" by town poet Ian McMillan will be etched on a plinth on the work.By the end of October, more than 900 people in Barnsley had died with covid. Council leader Sir Steve Houghton said the pandemic continued to affect everyone and urged people in the town to attend the opening ceremony and "reflect on those we've lost and those who work so tirelessly in our communities".
November 14 is Remembrance Sunday when we remember those who have given their lives, and those who have made sacrifices, in service of our country to ensure our freedom.There will be the traditional Remembrance Sunday service at St Mary and All Saints’ Church, Dunsfold. Our service will start at 9.30am.Our worship will be led by Reverend Canon Nigel Nicholson. After the church service Canon Nicholson will head to the Dunsfold War Memorial, alongside the cricket ground, where he will lead the public Act of Remembrance which will start at 10.45am.
THE COP26 climate summit in Glasgow has attracted church leaders from the Anglican Communion’s climate-vulnerable regions, keen to lobby on behalf of their communities.One such is the Archbishop of Central America and Bishop of Panama, the Most Revd Julio Murray (see photo). The part played by faith communities, he said last Friday, must not be underestimated when considering the impact of climate change.“As a representative of the delegation from the Anglican Communion, I believe that COP26 is an opportunity to introduce concrete action in response to one of our mission imperatives: to safeguard the integrity of all creation,” he said. “Governments, private sector business, and multilateral organisations should recognise the strategic importance of faith actors.”Central America is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, and contains some of the richest eco-systems, as well as communities living on the front line of the climate crisis. “All the countries in the Central American region are experiencing flooding, and also food scarcity due to climate change. This also results in forced migration, which impacts on the region,” Archbishop Murray said.The part played by church leaders, he said, was not just to raise awareness: it could also be a source of concrete solutions. “Anglicans across the world have long been engaged with environmental concerns. Anglicans are on the front line of the climate emergency, and are also actively involved in shaping solutions. We have the capacity to leverage our shared identity to mobilise our networks for climate justice and climate action.”Among the outcomes he hopes to see is strengthening climate resilience at the local level, providing the latest clean-energy technology and sharing the global burden fairly, as richer nations take their fair share of responsibility for having caused the problem.“These recommendations are meant to offer concrete suggestions to policy-makers,” he said. “They are some of the outcomes that we see can happen as concrete actions once COP26 is over. So we encourage faith leaders in the local context to get in contact with their governments, to find out what are the agreements they have signed on to, and to make a strategic partnership with them in order to follow through and follow up on the commitments made at COP26.”For the Archbishop, the solution also involves a spiritual reawakening. He said: “Not only the Church in Central America, but also the Churches which are part of the Anglican Communion are working to tackle climate change. We express the power of the Holy Spirit at this unprecedented time. This involves more than advocacy and activism: it involves a deeper level of pastoral guidance, innovative approaches to financial and environmental stewardship, and a spiritual and ecological vision, as we organise ourselves better to serve. We encourage governments so that they will be partners along with faith leaders in their different countries.”He continued: “I would ask UK Christians to partner in building resilience and in promoting justice. To encourage their own government to support governments in developing countries in Central America and the world to prepare programmes that respond to the damage and impact caused by the climate change. To join us as we pray and work together to be better stewards of creation, and to make sure that all people have what they need to live as human beings, with dignity and respect.”The need for greater urgency at the Glasgow talks was raised by church leaders from the Amazon. In a joint statement from the Bishops’ Conference of the Amazon and the Pan-Amazon Ecclesial Network, they express their “bewilderment” and “sense of helplessness” in the face of the “catastrophic impact” that climate change is having on humanity and the environment, and plead for “tangible results leading to a change of route once and for all”.On Saturday, the synod of the diocese of Norwich voted by 61 votes to five to disinvest from fossil fuels. The Priest-in-Charge of Martham and Repps with Bastwick, Thurne and Clippesby, the Revd Dr Steven Sivyer, the proposer of the motion, welcomed the outcome. He said: “I am delighted. There was a reasoned and thoughtful debate, and this is just the start of a wider move to look across our investments.“Our Christian duty is to be good stewards of God’s creation. The purpose of this motion is so that we do not profit from the practices that are destroying our environment, so that our actions are informed by our morals, which are guided by our faith.”On Monday, the Christian conservation charity A Rocha announced that it hopes to regenerate 75,000 acres of church land for nature and cutting carbon over the next five years. The Christian community in the UK owns or manages more than 500,000 acres of land, from churchyards and conference-centre grounds to urban community farms and agricultural estates. Twenty-five land managers with more than 1800 acres of land are committed to participating in this initiative, and a further 40 Christian land managers are looking at joining the Partners in Action scheme.Also on Monday, Christian Aid published a study underlining the impact of climate change on the economies of climate-vulnerable nations. The research, led by Humboldt University, in Berlin, showed that, even if the global temperature rise were kept to 1.5ºC, as outlined in the Paris Agreement, vulnerable countries faced an average GDP hit of 33 per cent by 2100. Under current climate trajectories, the damage would be 64 per cent, highlighting the need for both urgent emissions reductions and also financial support.The charity’s climate-justice adviser, Nushrat Chowdhury, said: “Being from Bangladesh, I’ve seen how loss and damage is already affecting my people. Houses, lands, schools, hospitals, roads are being lost and damaged by floods and cyclones. People are losing everything. Sea levels are rising, and people are desperate to adapt to the changing situations.”
