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Humanity and the Earth (3 November)

Today our Thought for the Week comes from Hannah Gray who is a member of Light of Life Baptist Church, in Ormesby Norfolk, and is also part of the Baptist Union Environment Network. She works at the University of East Anglia, managing international research projects relating to environment and sustainable development. Therefore in light of COP26 taking place in Glasgow we thought Hannah’s thoughts and prayer requests would be worth sharing.

It’s a beautiful October evening, and I’m sitting in the magnificent nave of Norwich Cathedral, underneath the tail of a diplodocus. Dippy usually graces the Natural History Museum, but he’s on a staycation. I’m listening to colleagues from the University of East Anglia debate whether humanity is on the road to extinction.

The talk is timely, with the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 happening in Glasgow. The speakers agree we need urgent action if we want to avoid sleepwalking into a future where much of our earth is uninhabitable.

None of the speakers profess a faith, but their words resonate with my spirit. One suggests we should learn from the Cathedral builders. They had long term vision and selflessness, knowing it would be finished hundreds of years beyond their lifetime. We need Cathedral-thinking today, instead of the tendency to think short term, satisfy our immediate wants, and delay starting the hard work now.

Science shows that humanity is teetering on the edge of a climate precipice. One speaker suggests what will save us is love. Love for our brothers and sisters facing the impacts of climate change already. Love for our children’s children, who will have to cope with harsher conditions than we do. And love for our planet and its biodiversity, which groans and weeps at the pace of change.

Please pray that world leaders make brave decisions at COP26 that set humanity on a safer path.

Pray that our churches will be shining examples of environmental integrity and leadership.

Pray that the spirit will show us how we can love a warming world.