The Church and the Environment: Getting Real about Creation Care

First published 18th April 2018

On Saturday April 14, the Bristol Diocese Environment Group in conjunction with the Diocese Social Justice Network hosted a day conference on the environment.

The event took place at St Pauls Southville attended by the Right Revd Nicholas Holtam, Bishop of Salisbury and Church of England lead on the environment along with over fifty attendees and speakers from across the Diocese and beyond.

Bristol Diocese is thinking seriously about creation care. We formed a Diocese Environment Group last year; we've signalled our commitment to be an Eco Diocese and were seeking to connect with parishes, ecumenical partners, and other stakeholders to find out what God is already doing in this key area of mission.

Saturdays event was designed to provide momentum for this important work.

Speaking after the event, the chair of the Diocese Environment Group, Canon Professor Martin Gainsborough, said: We were really heartened by the response to Saturday.There was real enthusiasm in the room and though the environmental challenges facing us are immense, it gave us confidence that there is an appetite across the Diocese to see meaningful and lasting change.

Theres also a lot going on already!, he added.

Bishop Nicholas, speaking on the subject of sustainability and mission, sketched out some of the theological, political, moral and spiritual imperatives underpinning the Church's work in this area. As God's people, he emphasised the importance of delighting in this work: We dont engage in creation care because it matters to us, he said, we do so because it is God's delight our duty and our joy.

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