Welcome to the second Webnet Eco Update! With the Climate crisis much in the news at the moment we would encourage all churches to make Creation Care a focus during worship services and prayer meetings in the coming weeks. Resources can be found on the Climate Sunday website.
Baptist Union Environment Group (BUEN) and COP 26
The Glasgow Climate Conference begins on Sunday 31 October and lasts for two weeks. A number of pilgrim groups have walked from many European countries and will be converging on the Scottish capital on Saturday 30 October, including the Young Christian Climate Network’s relay pilgrimage which passed through our association back in July. Kevin and Ros Durrant will be joining these pilgrims for their final 13 miles into the city and will then spend the first week of the COP 26 prayer-walking around the conference area and supporting various events. They will be there with other members of the ecumenical group that walked to Paris back in 2015 and who now want to see the world’s leaders honour the pledges they made then. Please pray for some genuine breakthroughs. Kevin and Ros will be representing BUEN at the ecumenical service on Sunday November 7th and also blogging throughout their time in Glasgow, which can be accessed via the BUEN Facebook page.
Eco-church and Baptist Network Pilot
By 2020 the number of Webnet churches that had registered for the Eco-church award scheme was 13. It would be great to see this number increase. The guidance on the Arocha website is very straight-forward, but Kevin and Ros are happy to offer advice and hope to run another workshop in the near future for those interested in beginning the accreditation process. They are also forming a working group to help Arocha design an award for Baptist Associations. Arocha already provide a scheme for Anglican dioceses and Methodist circuits but not for Baptist associations. Webnet are planning to pilot this, and would welcome input from our local Baptist family.
Courting Chaos: Navigating the Ecological Crisis with the help of Jeremiah
Courting Chaos is the title of Kevin’s new book (publisher: Wipf and Stock), the back cover of which states:
How are we meant to understand the worsening ecological crisis, and how do we discover God’s presence within it? These are questions Courting Chaos explores with the help of Scripture, art, and poetry. Focusing particularly on the writings of Jeremiah, this book sees parallels between the looming threat of Babylonian invasion which hung over the people of Judah and our own global predicament. Because it offered a hope that would survive the chaos of defeat and exile, the book of Jeremiah is presented as a spiritual resource for us today, as we face living with an increasingly unstable climate. Courting Chaos weaves together the teaching of Jeremiah with the linked ministries of Jonah and Jesus, each of whom came through the chaotic waters of death to deliver a message of hope.
There are questions for discussion at the end of each chapter that would also make the book useful for smaller study groups. Copies can be obtained from Kevin at £12 (including postage and packing) by emailing Kevin on kjdurrantkbc@gmail.com.
Kevin and Ros Durrant are the BUEN representatives for Webnet and are in ministry at Keynsham Baptist Church. They are available as a contact point for any queries around Arocha’s Eco Church awards programme.
For a conversation about anything in our Webnet Eco Update please contact Kevin and Ros Durrant on 07580 479452 or send them an email.