Tag: Climate Change

Global Call to Action for COP28, 9 December 2023, 11.50am at St James Square

This Saturday, 9 December 2023, sees the Global Call to Action. Westminster Justice and Peace are joining CAFOD and many other civic groups to march and call for leaders at COP28 to commit to urgent action on the climate crisis.

We’re going to meet at 11:50am at St James’s Square, SW1Y 4LE. This is next to the office of BP, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies.

A large march calling for a ceasefire in the war in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory is now going to be taking place in London on the same day as we gather to call for leaders at COP28 to act on the climate crisis.

As a result, the route for the COP28 march is going to be shorter than originally planned:

  • Once we meet at St James’s Square at 11:50am, we’ll hold a moment to gather with people from different faith and belief groups to pray or reflect on the need for leaders to act at COP28.
  • There will then be a rally taking place outside BP to call for governments to stop supporting fossil fuels.
  • Following the rally, there will be a short march that will end just before 2:00pm at Trafalgar Square, with many people taking part in the climate march going on to join the Palestine march.

Along with Christian Aid and Tearfund, CAFOD have written a set of prayers that we will say when we meet outside BP. And, of course, if you’re unable to join us in person to call for leaders to act at COP28, you can say these prayers with us from wherever you are in the world.

We will be there with the Westminster Justice and Peace banner from 11.45am.

You can also join in at Farm Street Church for the Jesuit Missions prayer event from 10am

You are welcome to let us know if you would like to join us or just show up on the day.

And spread the word!

Email: justiceandpeace@rcdow.org.uk Colette Joyce Mobile: 07953 434905

Register your interest with CAFOD

CAFOD Prayers for COP28

Lent Cookbook Now Available

Lenten Cookbook

Thank you to all who contributed a recipe (or two!) to our new vegetarian cookbook, which is now available to order in time for Lent. Eating meat puts a huge strain on the Earth’s resources, and also contributes a large number of carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Therefore, we suggest going veggie for Lent. The 40 recipes in this book are a good place to start.

Also available are our ‘Paris Diaries’, a photo journal of our exciting cycle ride to Paris for the UN conference on climate change. It features a written account of the ride as well as an in depth reflection written by our chair Fr Joe Ryan.

Get the books for £3 each or £5 for both. Download an order form here.

Go Veggie For Lent

Fattoush salad

Now that the dust has settled after our 150 mile cycle pilgrimage to Paris for the climate talks, it is important that the pace is not lessened in the fight for climate justice. World leaders must be held accountable to the promises made in Paris, and we should take action in our own lives to reduce our carbon footprints.

The rearing of livestock is a huge environmental burden, not only because of the huge amounts of land required to house animals or to grow the grain to feed them, but also because of the emissions generated by their slaughter, packaging and transport.

Lent is usually a time when we think about giving something up, such as alcohol or chocolate, so why not meat? At Justice and Peace, we thought about ways we could continue to pray and fast for the climate, and came up with the idea of producing a Lenten vegetarian cookbook featuring 40 tasty veggie recipes.

However, we need your help!

If you have a vegetarian recipe you would like to share with us then download the form here, fill it out including the ingredients, method, backstory, any credit if necessary, and a photo (of the dish or yourself or both), and send it back to us at justice@rcdow.org.uk no later than Monday 17 January.

Happy eating!

The Paris Diaries – Cycling Pilgrimage

Danny Bonnett, a wind turbine engineer from Bristol and a cycling pilgrim, shares his experiences of the road to Paris.

London Victoria

The group get ready to take the train to Newhaven

Day 1 – Newhaven to Dieppe

Mileage: almost nil.

Events: a few episodes of queasiness, great hospitality in Dieppe, and a great tour of historic churches – if only we had known how cold it was going to be!  Our hosts were so welcoming it was lovely. Continue reading →

Green Party MEP gives support to Paris cycle ride

Jean Lambert MEP

Barbara Kentish and Fr Joe Ryan with Jean Lambert, MEP

Barbara Kentish and Fr Joe Ryan met with Jean Lambert, London’s Green Party MEP, on Friday 13th November at her London offices to discuss our pilgrimage to Paris as well as our hopes for the climate change talks.

She was very helpful and supportive, giving guidance and providing us with excellent background knowledge of the conference: Continue reading →

Cycling pilgrimage to Paris is just around the corner

Phase 1 of cycle ride

Barbara Kentish and Fr Joe Ryan in front of Westminster Cathedral at the launch of the pilgrimage

With only two weeks to go until our small band of intrepid cyclists pedal to Paris, we are making our last minute preparations, oiling our bike chains and stocking up on puncture repair kits.

There are 17 cyclists in total who will be making the journey, and they represent a diverse group of people of all ages and from different walks of life. We have Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists and Quakers, who have all been inspired to show their support for the upcoming UN climate talks and to lend their voices to the thousands of people who will converge on France’s capital to call for action to lower global carbon emissions. Continue reading →

Westminster Justice & Peace Annual Day 2015

Laudato Si’ – On Care for our Common Home

Fr Joe with J&P supporters

Fr Joe Ryan with J&P supporters

Nine  years after  Columban theologian Sean McDonagh first addressed the Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission he returned to give a wonderfully enriching overview of Pope Francis’s letter, Laudato Si’.  Over seventy people from across the diocese attended the occasion at St John Vianney Parish Centre In Tottenham, as Father Sean rolled out gem after gem of the encyclical, published in May, with illustrations from his own observations and experiences of over 40 years speaking out for the environment.  Continue reading →

Welwyn Garden City examines Climate Change

Welwyn Garden City Peace Plaque in the Peace Garden

Welwyn Garden City Peace Plaque in the Peace Garden

Justice and Peace has been praying and fasting for the Climate for several months now, and Welwyn Garden City hosted the July 1st event, only a few days after Pope Francis’s encyclical (Laudato Si) was published. Over 60 people, from various Hertfordshire parishes, gathered at Our Lady Queen of Apostles church. Continue reading →