You may want to print out or adapt the following talk to introduce climate change to your church or small group. You can also adapt this talk to go in your church newsletter to introduce the challenge.
Climate change: not just a load of hot air
It’s not just scientists who are certain that climate change is real and happening now.
Around the world, the Christians Tearfund works with are telling of the devastation that unpredictable weather patterns are bringing poor communities. Click here to find out more.
What’s going on?
Almost all our energy comes from burning fossil fuels. The more energy we use, the more fossil fuels are burnt – and the more heat-trapping gases, like carbon dioxide, are released into the earth’s atmosphere. The more heat trapped, the warmer the world becomes and the more the climate changes.
So the heat is on to use less energy – not more – in our homes, church buildings and as we travel.
Meet Andrew from Malawi
‘The climate has changed. Because of the droughts, we don’t know whether we’ll harvest anything at all.’ Andrew, 22, Malawi
While our energy-hungry lifestyle is often fuelled by the quest for comfort and convenience, Andrew (pictured in the Carbon Fast booklet) is farming the sand that floods left behind.
‘Our land was like a river: water brought all this sand,’ says Andrew, 22, from Fombe village, Malawi. ‘Now we have to dig down a metre to find good earth. ‘In the past, food would last all year round to the next harvest. But these days, because of droughts and floods, we never harvest enough for the whole year.’
Things are hotting up
None of us i'm sure would dream of actually stealing food from Andrew’s hands. We've just forgotten that we’re all connected.
What we do here affects Andrew’s life there.
The world is heating up – faster than at any time in the past ten thousand years. Climate change isn’t just a lot of hot air. It causes extremes of weather, which devastate poor communities like Andrew’s – bringing floods, drought, poor harvests, malnutrition, increased disease and even death.
Who is my neighbour?
The Bible tells us that ‘Love does no harm to its neighbour’ (Romans 13:10). But living in an energy-hungry way does.
That’s because the more energy we use at home, at church and as we travel, the more fossil fuels are burnt – and the more heat-trapping gases, like carbon dioxide, are released into the earth’s atmosphere. The more heat trapped, the warmer the world becomes and the more the climate changes.
And climate change always hits poor communities hardest.
The verse we just read carries echoes of Jesus’ famous ‘who is my neighbour’ explanation in Luke 10:25-37. (You might want someone to read it out.)
Through this good Samaritan story, Jesus turns the law teacher’s question on its head and shows that the real question is: ‘Who can I be a neighbour to?’
Jesus teaches us that being a neighbour isn’t necessarily about who lives next door. It’s actually about showing mercy to people in need, and taking seriously our responsibility as followers of Christ to help them.
The power of love
And so back to Romans 13:8-10, where Paul tells us that love is the one debt we can never pay off. In fact, love must be the motivating force in our lives if we are going to help our neighbours in need – just as it motivated Jesus and the good Samaritan.
And love for our poorer neighbours – coupled with our responsibility to do them no harm – is what will help us overcome any small inconveniences we meet as we use less energy.
Love for God and people is what motivates Tearfund’s church-based partners working in 70 countries around the world, as they bring life-changing help and hope to poor communities, day in, day out.
They’re the reason why Tearfund believes passionately in the power of the local church worldwide to transform the lives of the poorest people.
In Malawi, Tearfund church partner, Eagles, gives practical and spiritual support to many families like Andrew’s. They give drought-resistant seeds, tools and ideas to tackle the effects of climate change. They give farmers what they need to plant twice a year rather than once – so that families have more chance of harvesting the food they need.
They helped plant tree saplings to grow a forest that now acts as a life-saving buffer between the river and the village – when the floods come, the trees stop debris crushing people and their homes.
And they tell people of the hope and love that only Christ can bring – transforming their lives not just now, but for eternity.
Let the words of Eagles’ director, Cuthbert Gondwa, 29, inspire you: ‘If we demonstrate love that goes from church to church – love that doesn’t have boundaries – then the whole church will really be seen as the children of God.’
Tearfund invites you to demonstrate love that knows no boundaries.
Together with churches across the UK and Ireland, you can start putting the brakes on climate change, for the sake of the world’s poorest people.
So don’t let poor people be the collateral damage of your lifestyle. Take the Carbon Fast with your church today!