Praying at Kew Gardens with CAFOD, Caritas and Justice & Peace, 9th August 2022
We liked our visit to Kew Gardens in August so much that we want to go back!
All are welcome to join Colette Joyce & Fr Dominic Robinson SJ on 15th September, 11am-4pm for another opportunity to see the famous botanical gardens – this time during the Season of Creation.
We will visit the Food Forever exhibition in the morning with time to explore the gardens in the afternoon.
Purchase own tickets in advance via the Kew website (for a small reduction) or on arrival and meet inside the ticket barriers at the Victoria Gate at 11.00am where we will begin and end the day with prayers. You can bring a picnic or buy food in the café for lunch.
This year we will unite around the theme, “Listen to the Voice of Creation.”
The Psalmist declares, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge…their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the Earth, and their words to the end of the world.” (19: 1-4)
During the Season of Creation, our common prayer and action can help us listen for the voices of those who are silenced. In prayer we lament the individuals, communities, species, and ecosystems who are lost, and those whose livelihoods are threatened by habitat loss and climate change. In prayer we centre the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.
“I have heard their cry…I know their sufferings…Come, now! I will send you…I will be with you” (Ex 3:1-12)
The episcopal lead for the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales on the Environment, Bishop John Arnold of Salford, has called for more urgent action on the climate crisis. In a statement on his diocesan website on 23 July, after a record-breaking heatwave in the UK, he said:
“This is not going to just peak and then we’ll hear no more of it. It’s going to get gradually worse. We are warming the globe and we’re not reacting quickly enough to avoid the damage or to even begin to repair the damage that we’ve done. We’ve already been told that some of the damage is irreparable, so we’ve got to think and we’ve got to act. Unfortunately, the government is not fulfilling the promises made at COP26…. The politics of our nation must take full measure of climate change and the climate crisis.
“I know that we’re jogging along, showing an interest in climate change – but jogging is not enough. We’ve got to start sprinting at this stage to make sure that we are caring for our common home and our brothers and sisters.”
He described the recent heatwave as a “wake-up call,” saying, “this week, we’ve witnessed temperatures never before reached here in the UK and, here in our own diocese, temperatures also saw record highs as some parishes nudged 40 degrees and firefighters battled flames in nearby communities.”
Bishop John thanked parishes and schools already working to live more sustainably and campaign for environmental justice. Bishop Arnold invited involvement in the second diocesan Walk for Creation on Sunday 2nd October.
I have been privileged to attend the ‘Southern Environment Diocesan Network’ meetings, which are open to all with participants including members of CAFOD, Diocesan staff and volunteers, Laudato Si’ Animators, clergy, parishioners, religious and activists. We have met together for mutual support and encouragement for our efforts to tackle climate change in our work and home environments.
We were fortunate to receive input on all aspects of the climate, in order for us to inform those around us. Recently we learnt about ‘Biodiversity’ and how Climate Change is causing widespread devastation to all species and habitats on this planet. Clearly, there needs to be a dramatic reduction in our carbon emissions as individuals and organisations in order to protect the future and diversity of all life on earth. The mission of the network is inspired by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching set out by Pope Francis in his encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ which draws upon scripture to highlights our duty as Catholics to care for the earth and each other.
For me the experience highlighted the reality and urgency of the crisis which is often easy for us to forget amongst the business of our lives and the fact that real change is only possible if we take responsibility as individuals. It is only by the accumulation of our efforts that there can be hope for the future of life on this earth. With prayer and support of one another, we can have the strength to ‘take up our cross’ (Matthew 16: 24,26) whatever form this may take so we can protect God’s creation for future generations.
The next leader of the Conservative Party and the next Prime Minister must aspire to make the UK a global leader on climate change, nature restoration and environmental health. The environment needs to be centre stage in their campaign. Below are 10 commitments that a candidate, who’s genuinely commited to the environment, should be comfortable in making. If delivered, they would make a substantial difference to people’s lives and the environment and demonstrate global leadership.
Invest in the biggest ever UK-wide home insulation programme through a council-led street by street programme and provide additional financial support to low-income households.
Reject calls for the scrapping of the moratorium on fracking and the development of any new oil, gas, or coal extraction and instead say ‘yes’ to the rapid growth of onshore and offshore renewable energy.
Accept the Office for Environmental Responsibility’s recommendations for stronger targets for nature restoration and air quality, reverse plans to weaken habitats and environmental assessment laws, and swiftly implement the Environmental Land Management Scheme to reward nature-friendly farming.
Support calls for the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment to be recognised by the UN General Assembly and put this into UK law, as an essential part of protecting people’s health and eradicating environmental inequalities.
Fix the Net Zero Strategy so it delivers on legally binding carbon reduction targets and the commitments made at COP26, ensuring all departments in Whitehall deliver their part, including the Treasury.
Decentralise power and resources to devolved nations and councils so that they can properly eradicate environmental inequalities, deliver on the Climate Change Act, restore nature and ensure planning rules are in line with the climate and ecological emergency.
Introduce a new UK Business, Human Rights and Environment Act to make companies accountable for environmental damage and human rights abuses in their overseas supply chains and to eliminate the UK’s role in global deforestation.
Follow through on the UK’s world-leading commitment to ending the financing of fossil fuel projects abroad by speeding up the decarbonisation of the UK Export Finance agency’s portfolio. This must include withdrawing funding from the Mozambique gas project and switching financial support to renewable energy.
Ensure all new trade deals have strong, enforceable climate change and nature protection safeguards and that food standards and nature-friendly farming are not undermined by imports produced to lower environmental standards.
Make the UK a beacon of democracy by reversing draconian restrictions on protest, guarantee the independence of the Electoral Commission, stop the attacks on the Human Rights Act, and ensure citizens can challenge unjust decisions through the courts.
The Season of Creation is the annual Christian celebration to listen and respond together to the cry of Creation: the ecumenical family around the world unites to pray and protect our common home.
The Season “Celebration” begins on 1 September, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends on 4 October, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations.
This year we will unite around the theme, “Listen to the Voice of Creation.”
The Psalmist declares, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge…their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the Earth, and their words to the end of the world.” (19: 1-4)
During the Season of Creation, our common prayer and action can help us listen for the voices of those who are silenced. In prayer we lament the individuals, communities, species, and ecosystems who are lost, and those whose livelihoods are threatened by habitat loss and climate change. In prayer we centre the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.
May this 2022 Season of Creation renew our ecumenical unity, renewing and uniting us by our bond of Peace in one Spirit, in our call to care for our common home. And may this season of prayer and action be a time to Listen to the Voice of Creation, so that our lives in words and deeds proclaim good news for all the Earth.
In God’s grace,
Members of the Season of Creation Advisory Committee
Kew Gardens Outing to the ‘Food Forever Festival’ with Westminster Justice & Peace, CAFOD and Caritas
This summer holidays, why not join us for a visit to see the world-famous botanical gardens and explore Kew’s exhibition on the future of sustainable food?
Protecting sustainable food sources is a major theme of social justice that is of great concern to CAFOD, Caritas and Justice & Peace.
Tony Sheen (CAFOD Westminster Community Participation Co-ordinator), Niki Psarias (Caritas Westminster Lead for Food) and Colette Joyce (Westminster Justice and Peace Co-ordinator) are coming together to lead this day out, enjoying the beauty of nature at Kew Gardens while learning more about this essential topic.
We will meet together inside the Gardens at the Victoria Gate entrance at 11am for an introduction to the festival and again in the same place at 4pm for a time of sharing and a closing prayer.
You are welcome to walk with us or to explore the gardens at your own pace.
There will be the option to bring a picnic to eat together (weather permitting!) or you can go independently to any of Kew’s restaurants or food outlets.
You will need to book your own tickets. We recommend doing this at the earliest opportunity, booking in advance on the Kew website, to ensure your place, although tickets can also be purchased on the day. Tickets vary in price depending on number and type bought. A standard single adult ticket booked online in advance costs £15.
The Mass will be held at Farm Street Church, W1K 3AH (nearest tube – Green Park) and the celebrant will be Fr Dominic Robinson SJ.
The Southern Dioceses Environment Network was launched in January 2022 and organises monthly online meetings to support Catholics and our friends who share a concern for the care of creation. Anyone can join and participants include CAFOD volunteers to Diocesan staff, clergy, religious, parishioners, Laudato Si’ Animators and Christian Climate Action activists.
We are drawn from the Dioceses of Arundel & Brighton, Brentwood, Clifton, East Anglia, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Southwark and Westminster, and also collaborate with the Northern Dioceses Environment Group.
This Mass will be our first in-person event and we warmly invite people who have not been able to attend the meetings, but support our aims, to come along and join us in prayer and networking. Children and families welcome.
There will be refreshments in the Arrupe Hall afterwards, along with displays of work for the environment being carried out around the dioceses.
London Climate Action week 2022, the largest independent climate change event in Europe, will take place from 25th June to 3rd July and focuses on delivering the promises from COP-26 in this post pandemic era. It will involve a mixture of in-person and virtual events which anyone is free to host and hopes to embrace the diversity of London’s experience and heritage. Events will be a mixture of panel discussions, digital campaigns, announcements from business leaders and much more.
This annual event aims to harness the power of London for global Climate action to help us move towards a net-zero future. It will feature many world leading climate professionals and communities across London and beyond with the hope of finding practical solutions to the climate crisis.
As we recover from COVID-19, we need to embrace a new normal that puts tackling the climate emergency at the heart of everything we do.
We invite you to the next ‘Southern Dioceses Environment Network’ meeting, on Monday 13th June 12.45-2.00pm where we will explore the theme of ‘sustainable summers’. In preparation it would be helpful if you could have a think about a place, attraction, or venue in your Diocese to encourage families to explore the many things a sustainable holiday in England can offer. We would like to know something great about each Diocese! At the meeting, in Diocesan groups, you will be tasked to give each suggestion a trip advisor type review.
Things to consider could be:
Public Transport Cost Facilities Accessibility What is on offer Opening times Extra information Web site
Although this is a serious topic, we intend this to be an enjoyable session as we look towards the much-needed holiday season.
Diocese of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission 