Hungry for justice: new movement calls Christians to fast for the climate

"Pray and fast for the climate" once a month for a year.

That's the message to UK Christians from a coalition of charities and campaigning groups.

Members of the Civil Protection Committee meet to look at a dyke constructed for flood control purposes in Fombe Village, Malawi (Photo: Geoff Crawford/Tearfund)

The year of prayer and fasting is to be launched at services around the country on November 1, with the main event at St John's Church, Waterloo.

It is aimed at highlighting the need for faith communities to act in response to the crisis of climate change as momentum builds towards a new international climate agreement to be signed in Paris in December 2015.

The St John's event will be hosted by Christian charity Operation Noah with support from other members of the Faith for the Climate network, including the Evangelical Alliance, A Rocha, Christian Aid, Christian Concern for One World, Christian Ecology Link, OurVoices, Hope for the Future and Shrinking the Footprint.

Canon Giles Goddard, priest at St John's Waterloo and board member of Operation Noah, said: "The need for change is urgent and everyone can help bring it about. This is an initiative about hope. Praying and fasting for the climate will inspire action and encourage people to think about what needs to happen.

"We are calling for justice for all those impacted by climate change now and in the future, and for an ambitious outcome at next year's climate talks in Paris. We hope people across the country will support the initiative and tell others about it".

Pray and Fast for the Climate (PFC) is also supported by Faith For The Climate members Climate Stewards, Commitment for Life, SPEAK, mainstream Christian denominations and Tearfund.

Other services will be taking place in locations across the UK, including Brighton, Coventry, Lancaster and Southwell. People will be encouraged to spread the movement far and wide by hosting monthly prayer and fasting events, using resources and prayer points from the website.

This prayer movement builds upon the Fast for the Climate initiative begun at the 2013 UN climate talks by Yeb Sano, the Filipino delegate, in the wake of the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan. Sano has continued to fast on the first of every month, joined by people from all around the world.

PFC says: "Our desire as Christians is for God's kingdom to be raised up in our world in all aspects of life. We believe that care for creation is an essential part of that, and so we are asking God to use our prayers and fasting for the climate to build a platform upon which right decisions will be made by politicians, leaders and negotiators to allow all people to dream, to hope and to shape a greener, just and sustainable world."

related articles
How Pope Francis became a \'powerful new ally\' in the war on climate change
How Pope Francis became a 'powerful new ally' in the war on climate change

How Pope Francis became a 'powerful new ally' in the war on climate change

Faith leaders call for action after biggest climate march in history
Faith leaders call for action after biggest climate march in history

Faith leaders call for action after biggest climate march in history

Atheists, Baptists and Baha\'i come together to tackle climate change
Atheists, Baptists and Baha'i come together to tackle climate change

Atheists, Baptists and Baha'i come together to tackle climate change

News
Being people of peace
Being people of peace

It would be fair to say that the pace and complexity of life works against us finding any peace.

Christians and religious nones alike object to AI-generated social media videos
Christians and religious nones alike object to AI-generated social media videos

Evangelicals, nones and non-denominational Christians reject AI-generated videos, a new study has found.

What we don’t know about Christmas
What we don’t know about Christmas

Every Christmas people are bombarded with images of the Nativity in Christmas cards, the lyrics of songs and Nativity plays. Yet many of the images embedded in our minds are pure tradition. In fact, there is a lot that we do not know. This is the story … 

Richard Moth appointed as new Archbishop of Westminster
Richard Moth appointed as new Archbishop of Westminster

Bishop Richard Moth has been confirmed as the new Archbishop of Westminster, the most senior post in the Catholic Church in England and Wales.