April 2020

Dear friends,

Welcome to the April edition of Operation Noah’s newsletter. We hope you are keeping well in these unusual times.

This month’s newsletter includes a tribute to the late Sir John Houghton, a keen supporter of Operation Noah from our inception. You are also invited to ask your church or Christian organisation to make a decision to divest from fossil fuels ahead of the next global divestment announcement for faith organisations and we have news of a new Bright Now report and accompanying webinar.

All the best,
The Operation Noah team

Sir John Houghton (1931 - 2020)

The eminent meteorologist, climate change expert and Christian, Sir John Houghton, has died at the age of 88 of suspected Covid-19. Sir John was a Patron of Operation Noah.

Paul Bodenham, Operation Noah founder, recalls: ‘John spent many hours, over many years, touring churches in Britain and the United States, making the case for Christians to act on climate change. It was a ministry in which he was quietly tenacious, and I was struck by the integrity with which he spoke, fully both a scientist and a disciple. He was opening speaker at the launch of Operation Noah in 2004, while it was still a project of Green Christian, and featured in the campaign video which followed. It is no exaggeration to say that John was instrumental in the churches in the UK finding their voice on climate change.’

At Operation Noah our thoughts and prayers are with Sir John’s family at this time.

Read more here

Churches Investing in the Clean Energy Future: Case Studies

Churches and religious organisations are involved in creative ways of investing in and supporting the production of renewable energy – for example, through investment in community energy projects and renewable energy companies.

We have collected some case studies, including Salisbury and Gloucester Cathedrals, to demonstrate how churches across the UK are investing in the clean energy transition and showcase some of the options available for the investment of church funds in renewable energy and clean technologies.

Read the case studies here

Join the Global Divestment Announcement

Together with our friends at the World Council of Churches, the Global Catholic Climate Movement and Green Anglicans, Operation Noah is planning a global divestment announcement for faith organisations on 18 May 2020, to coincide with Laudato Si’ Week.

If you would be interested in getting your local church or Christian organisation to make a divestment commitment and join the global divestment announcement, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please get in touch with Bokani Tshidzu on bokani.tshidzu@operationnoah.org before 12 May 2020 for further information or to register your interest.

New Bright Now Report to Call on Churches to Urgently Divest From Fossil Fuels

A new report from Operation Noah will call on Churches in the UK to divest from fossil fuels urgently in response to the climate emergency. The report will show the gap between the Paris Agreement targets and the business plans of major oil companies.

The report will be published in May 2020 and followed by a webinar in early June to share key findings. Details to follow!

Fossil Fuel Divestment Announcements

Three Methodist Churches Divest from Fossil Fuels

Lancaster Methodist Church, Stroud Methodist Church and Banner Cross Methodist Church in Sheffield have decided to end their investments in fossil fuel companies.

The three churches called on the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church to complete divestment from fossil fuels this year. Lancaster Methodist Church said that if the Central Finance Board did not pledge to fully divest from fossil fuels in 2020, then it would move its funds to an alternative bank or fund manager.

Sean Ashton, a member of the Banner Cross Methodist Church leadership team said: ‘We are an Eco Church and we take looking after God’s creation seriously. Most of the known fossil fuel reserves cannot be burned if we are to limit warming to 1.5°C, and those investing in fossil fuels risk being left with stranded assets. It therefore made perfect sense, both environmentally and financially, to divest from fossil fuels.’

Read more

Dunscore Parish Church Calls on Church of Scotland to Divest From Fossil Fuels

Dunscore Parish Church has decided to end its investments in fossil fuels, becoming the second local church in the Church of Scotland to divest. At the same time, it called on the Church of Scotland nationally to complete divestment from all fossil fuel companies, including oil and gas companies.

Read more

Operation Noah calls for a Just Recovery. Operation Noah has joined hundreds of organisations around the world to call for a recovery from Covid-19 that would enable a transition to a better future.

The church still needs to lead on action on climate change: A new poll has found that almost half the public believe the Government should respond with the same urgency to climate change as it has to Covid-19.

Radical Presence Conversations

The Coronavirus pandemic marks a threshold to a very different future. But will that future be bet-ter or worse? Green Christian is gathering people to claim the post-viral age. Radical Presence of-fers a chance to learn from our faith, Scripture and Covid-19 how to tackle the crisis that looms be-hind it: environmental breakdown. Joining in a short programme of weekly conversations, you’ll listen for God’s word in this time between worlds, in the company of each other, contemporary writers and desert prophets.

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