Faith leaders came together last week (Friday July 11) in Norwich with a pledge to act as role models to support nature and tackle climate change – and they called on politicians to do the same. Fran Abrams of the Local Storytelling Exchange, reports.
The event at St Peter Mancroft Church in Norwich was attended by three East Anglia MPs along with representatives from faith groups including Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Baha’ais and Pagans.
Its aim was to bring together different faiths to promise action on the climate and nature crisis, and to call on elected representatives to support nature and moves towards a greener future for the planet.
Three Labour Members of Parliament attended the event : Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South, Alice MacDonald, MP for Norwich North, and Dr Peter Prinsley, MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket.
Representatives of the six faith groups signed a pledge to work together for climate and nature. “We are deeply alarmed by the ongoing breakdown of our climate and the consequent impacts on nature and people… as faith communities we recognise there is an overriding duty to care for each other and the natural world on which we all depend,” it said. “This means investing in nature, supporting nature-friendly farming and recognising the health and economic benefits of the natural world It means backing UK jobs, securing a just, green transition and building a cleaner, healthier future for all.”
The gathering was hosted by Revd Fiona Haworth, Associate Priest of St Peter Mancroft in Norwich city centre. The church recently won funding to reduce energy use by replacing its entire interior lighting system and installing heat pumps as well as batteries and 48 solar panels.
“Faith communities have a vital role to play in tackling the climate and nature crises,” Revd Haworth said. “We have come together to share our passion, learning and commitment to a cleaner, safer, fairer future, and to call on our elected leaders to be brave.”
Alice Macdonald, MP for Norwich North, and Peter Prinsley, MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket. Pic: Charlotte Gray Photography
As the event began, a team of bell ringers rang a peal to welcome visitors and faith group representatives stood together during a prayer of welcome. There were then group sessions led by experts including Sarah Eglington, planning and advocacy adviser at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Phil Hunt, environmental strategy manager at Norwich City Council, Rupert Read, Founder of the Climate Majority Project and James Vaccaro, Founder and Director of RePattern, which advises on sustainable systems, strategy and finance.
Alice MacDonald, MP, said: “Climate change has a keenly felt impact on our area, as it does across the country and the world. Having campaigned on climate change before becoming an MP and now serving in a constituency where so many people care about this issue, I know how vital it is that we take bold action to protect our planet. I welcome opportunities like these to speak with local people about such important issues.”
Rabbi Roderick Young of Norwich Synagogue said the event was ‘an inspiring and heartening meeting of minds.’ “In the Book of Genesis, at the start of our Torah, we humans are put in charge of the natural world. So we have a responsibility to protect it and treat it with reverence. As humans today we are clearly failing in that sacred task. And we are stronger when we stand and fight together for a just and sustainable world,” he said. “So that’s why I, and members of my synagogue in Norwich, wanted to be part of the Norwich Interfaith Event on Climate and Nature. It was an inspiring and heartening meeting of minds. We pledged to put pressure on our elective representatives to protect and rebuild the environment. And that pressure must be maintained.”
Barbara Bryant, Diocesan Environment Officer, said: “It was so very encouraging so see so many people gathering from a diverse range of faith groups, uniting around a common cause of climate and nature care with a determination to speak out and up – together we are stronger.”
Clive Lewis, MP, with attendees at the event. Pic: Charlotte Gray Photography
The Local Storytelling Exchange works to raise the profile of positive responses to environmental issues. For more in-formation or interviews please contact Fran Abrams at the Local Storytelling Exchange: fran.abrams@localstoryexchange.org; 07939 262001.
All photos © Charlotte Gray Photography
The interfaith event followed a mass lobby of Parliament on Wednesday July 9, attended by Bishop Graham, in which 5,000 people came together to ask MPs to deliver vital funding to communities hit hardest by climate change, to cut bills and back UK jobs to secure a greener and fairer future for all, and to restore nature to promote safety and health.
For more information about the interfaith event please contact Ben Margolis: bmcampaigns@gmail.com