Season of Creation was celebrated ecumenically in Wigan and Leigh Deanery with representatives from the Anglican, Methodist and Catholic Church. A Churches Together group joined for a service on 24 October 2024, to pray and reflect on the environment.
During the service an address was given by Linda Morris (Deanery Synodal Council chair).
She said: “I’m sure everyone here has heard about Pope Francis. He is well loved by many denominations throughout the world.
“On his election as Pope, he refused the traditional red shoes, preferring instead to continue wearing his well-worn black shoes.
“Instead of living in the Vatican Palace he chooses to live in his previous apartment and there are days when he takes his meal in the Vatican canteen with the other employees during their lunchbreak.
“What I was surprised to learn is that before becoming Pope he had some unusual jobs – he was a sweeper, a teacher and a bouncer- throwing troublemakers out of nightclubs. He is also a great tango dancer.
“However, he is deeply concerned about the climate and social crises. Science speaks clearly – the Earth faces the impact of climate change, which is closely linked to carbon dioxide emissions linked to the production and use of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas.
“Pope Francis tells us that despite the many negotiations and agreements, carbon dioxide emissions continue to increase. The necessary transition towards clean energy sources and the abandonment of fossil fuel use is not progressing at the necessary speed.
“The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew tells us that the root of the environmental crisis lies in human greed and selfishness. What is asked of us is not greater technological skill, but deeper repentance for our wrongful and wasteful ways. And the Most Revd. Justin Welsby tells us that as people of faith, we don’t just state our beliefs – we live them out.
“One belief is that we find purpose and joy in loving our neighbours. Another is that we are charged by our Creator with taking good care of his Creation. The moral crisis of climate change is an opportunity to find purpose and joy, and to respond to our Creator's charge.
“We recognise that we cannot remain indifferent to the sufferings of humans and other creatures, to the alarming disappearance of many species, and to the existential threat that the climate crises pose to many beings.
“As people of faith, we HOPE for a better world and wish to ACT accordingly. We hope for a world free from the monopoly of fossil fuels – and we can act with hope by supporting the Fossil Fuels Non-Proliferation Treaty (FFNPT).
“This Season of Creation, Christians, worldwide are being asked to raise awareness of this Treaty. So, what exactly is this Treaty? It is a global initiative which strives for an international agreement to phase out the use of fossil fuels.
“This Treaty compliments the Paris Agreement of 2015, a legally binding international treaty on climate change to keep the global temperature rise under one-and-a-half degrees centigrade.
“There are three main pillars to the Fossil Fuel Treaty:
1. Just transition: this means the adoption of renewable energy and economic diversification away from fossil fuels in ways that leave no worker, community or country behind.
2. Non-proliferation: this means stopping the expansion of coal, oil and gas production, that is, saying ‘No’ to new projects.
3. A fair phase-out: this means that nations with the capacity and historical responsibility for emission production, wind down first and fastest – they then support other nations around the world.
“As Christians we are asked to raise awareness about the treaty and to ask that our political and church leaders sign the treaty.
“Previous international treaties such as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the Landmine Ban Treaty have been successfully adopted. We have succeeded before – we can succeed again!”
