Four people connected with the group Christian Climate Action (CCA) are to appear before Bath Magistrates Court on Wednesday after conducting a banner drop from Bath Abbey.
The banner read “Don’t Crucify Creation” and marked the beginning of what CCA said was a campaign demanding “radical and urgent action” from the Church of England on climate change.
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. They are charged with aggravated trespass after staging a sit in on the roof of the bell tower.
Rev Bill White spoke in defence of his actions, saying, “As Jesus did in his context, Christian Climate Action calls on the Church to tackle the corrupt powers and injustices of our time. The Church of England is doing much to get its own house in order, including its Net Zero by 2030 target, and for that we are thankful.
“It also needs to speak truth to power unapologetically. The roots of this crisis are the greed and selfishness of large organisations.
"Christian Climate Action calls on the Church of England to speak out more clearly, rebuking businesses, media and government who are spreading misinformation and continuing to cause emissions to rise.”
Last year it was announced that the Church of England 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.
