16 November 2009
NEWS RELEASE - ADVANCE NOTICE
Churches to join The Wave on Saturday 5 December
Heads of Christian Churches in the UK - including Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Catholic Archbishop of Westminster - will lead an ecumenical service on 5 December to urge political leaders meeting in Copenhagen to ‘ACT NOW ON CLIMATE CHANGE’.
At least 3,000 Christians are expected to attend, carrying an array of colourful banners and dressed in blue. They will be travelling from their parishes around the country in special trains and coaches.
After the service some church leaders and the congregation will join tens of thousands of people marching to form a blue wave around the Houses of Parliament.
Churches on the march will be a key part of the growing movement for action on climate change. It is expected to be the UK’s biggest ever demonstration in support of action on climate change, ahead of the crucial UN climate talks in Copenhagen.
Time of service : 11am - midday
Location: Westminster Central Hall, SW1H 9NH.
Photo opportunity outside at 10.40am
The photo opportunity outside the venue will involve around 15 church leaders, including Archbishops Rowan Williams and Vincent Nichols.
They will be standing under a banner reading:
CHURCHES SAY ‘ACT NOW ON CLIMATE CHANGE’
Some of the bishops will be wearing blue gloves, highlighting their contribution to the blue wave being created later on in the afternoon.
12.50pm
Some church leaders and heads of Christian agencies will be at the head of the main
Stop Climate Chaos march, setting off from Grosvenor Square to Westminster around 1pm.
The keynote address at the service will be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The churches are calling on the UK government to take a leading role in securing a fair, ambitious and binding climate deal in Copenhagen.
For Christians, tackling climate change is urgent for two major reasons. Firstly, it is a social justice issue since it is having immediate and devastating impacts on the world's poorest people, who are least responsible yet hardest hit. Secondly, humanity is charged by God with protecting and preserving the diversity and beauty of God's creation, which is depleted and threatened by Climate change. Church leaders urge that the UK must commit to stringent reductions in carbon emissions and provide money for adaptation and clean development to help poor communities in their response to climate change.
Prayers will be led by Vincent Nichols, Head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, plus other church leaders and visiting partners from the global South. Steve Clifford, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance, will MC the service.
The event is organised by A Rocha, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Christian Concern for One World, Christian Ecology Link, Columban JPIC, MRDF, Operation Noah, Progressio, SPEAK and Tearfund.