Four people charged with aggravated trespass in relation to a protest by activist group Christian Climate Action (CCA) have pleaded not guilty at Bath Magistrates' Court.
The four individuals are Bill White, 71, a retired Church of England vicar, Stephen Pritchard, 66, a former parish councillor, Emma Ireland, 41, a mental health worker and Kate Chesterman, 60, a retired university worker.
The case centres around an incident at Bath Abbey on 13 September, in which the four staged a banner drop and conducted a sit on the roof of the bell tower. The banner read “Don’t Crucify Creation” and its unfurling marked the beginning of what CCA said was a campaign demanding “radical and urgent action” from the Church of England on climate change.
Earlier this week the Bishop of Bath meet with members of CCA to hear their concerns.
The Rev White appeared in court via video link, while the other protesters attended in person. As the hearing took place around 30 people held a prayer vigil outside in support of those charged.
During the hearing Pritchard, said, “I want to be judged by the morality of my actions, not by the legality of my actions.”
After the hearing Rev White said, “It is not in the public interest to prosecute the truth tellers, the prophets of our time. The Church is falling to tell the truth about climate breakdown and its impact on all of us. The Abbey was more interested in keeping its tours running than in being a place of worship and in hearing our message.”
A case management hearing is due to take place on 14 January.
The issue of climate change and Net Zero has caused some division within the Church of England.
Last year the Church announced it would be setting aside £190 million over "several triennia" [three-year periods] towards reaching its Net Zero targets.
However, some have criticised the Church’s move towards Net Zero, noting that many parishes struggle to afford greener heating systems, which combined with excessive bureaucracy means many older parishes are left without heating for long periods or simply break church rules in order to keep parishioners, particularly those who are elderly, warm.
