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March 2021

Dear friends,

It is a sign of the times that this month we have news of no fewer than six online webinars, both live and recorded (including our Anglican Communion webinar later this week – sign up now!).

We also have an excellent new two-part blog from our Chair, Revd Darrell Hannah. If you’ve ever had a frustrating conversation with a Christian about the interaction between science and faith it’s worth ten minutes of your time.

The Operation Noah team

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Anglican Communion webinar: COP26, Divestment and Investment for Climate Justice

Thursday 25 March, 7:00pm-8.30pm

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Join this interactive webinar with keynote speaker Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, the Bishop of Oxford, and other inspiring leaders across the Anglican Communion, who will share their insights about the steps that churches need to take on divestment and investment ahead of COP26 in Glasgow in November.

Register

Global divestment announcement: divest your church in the year of COP26

Together with our friends at the Global Catholic Climate Movement, World Council of Churches, Green Anglicans and GreenFaith, Operation Noah is delighted to launch the next global divestment announcement for faith organisations, which will take place on 17 May 2021.

Churches and other faith organisations joining the announcement commit to divest any investments in fossil fuel companies within a five-year timeframe and pledge not to invest in fossil fuels in the future. Even if your church doesn’t currently hold any fossil fuel investments (for instance, if it only has a bank account), it can make a powerful statement by pledging not to invest in fossil fuels in the future.

Get in touch with Bokani Tshidzu by 10 May 2021 for further information or to register your interest.

Scottish Faith Leaders Sign COP26 pledge

More than 50 faith leaders have signed the Scottish Churches COP26 Pledge following its launch at a webinar earlier this month. The Bishops of Edinburgh and Brechin, the Leader of the Iona Community and the Head of Christian Aid Scotland are among the signatories.

The webinar, entitled COP26, Divestment and Investment in a Just and Green Recovery, explored how churches in Scotland, both locally and nationally, can support a just and green recovery by divesting from fossil fuels and re-orienting investments towards a clean energy future. It was hosted by Eco-congregation Scotland, Operation Noah and partners and attended by nearly 200 people.

Sign the pledge
Watch the webinar

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Climate Sunday

The Climate Sunday initiative is calling on all local churches across Great Britain and Ireland to hold a climate-focused service on any Sunday before 5 September 2021. At this service, congregations are encouraged to make a commitment to greater action to address climate change in their own place of worship and community and to use their voice to tell politicians we want a cleaner, greener, fairer future at the heart of plans agreed during COP26.

Resources continue to be added to the Climate Sunday website, including sermons, suggested hymns and music, prayers, service plans and resources to help you engage young people.

Operation Noah’s Admin. Officer, Ruth Jarman, was involved in an online Climate Sunday service recently. Get inspiration by viewing the recording.

View Climate Sunday resources

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Letters we’ve signed recently

Operation Noah regularly signs open letters on a number of climate crisis-related issues. Here are some we’ve recently signed:

▪ Reconsider the Policing Bill. More than 240 organisations called on the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Justice to urge the government to reconsider the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which will severely restrict the right to protest.
▪ Don’t finance the East African crude oil pipeline. We joined 263 organisations, more than 120 of them based in Africa, calling on banks not to finance Total’s East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
▪ Stop the Cumbrian coal mine. More than 70 organisations, including CPRE, told Boris Johnson that plans for a new coal mine are unacceptable.
Reconsider the Policing Bill. More than 240 organisations called on the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Justice to urge the government to reconsider the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which will severely restrict the right to protest.
Don’t finance the East African crude oil pipeline. We joined 263 organisations, more than 120 of them based in Africa, calling on banks not to finance Total’s East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
Stop the Cumbrian coal mine. More than 70 organisations, including CPRE, told Boris Johnson that plans for a new coal mine are unacceptable.
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Catch up with our most recent blog posts
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Science and the Bible. In a two-part blog, Operation Noah Chair, Revd Darrell D. Hannah, considers the Bible and its relationship with science.

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Resources, events and opportunities

Operation Noah on the CEE Bill Alliance website. Operation Noah recently featured on the CEE Bill Alliance website. The bill is calling for meaningful action from government on the climate emergency. As of this month, 100 MPs from eight political parties support the bill.

Climate Emergency Toolkit, national training webinar. A webinar on Thursday 22 April for those who need help with starting to use Tearfund’s new Climate Emergency Toolkit or in taking the next steps. Runs at both 1pm and 8pm.

Green and ethical investment workshop recording. Operation Noah’s Bokani Tshidzu recently ran a workshop on green and ethical investment for Green Christian. She looked at the rationale for ethical investment and how we can make a difference through investing responsibly for the environment.

Teach the Future petition. New research shows that only 4% of students in schools feel that they know a lot about climate change. 70% of teachers feel that they haven’t received adequate training to educate students about climate change. Sign Teach the Future’s petition to ensure that all students are substantively taught about the climate emergency and ecological crisis.

Celebrating five years of Eco Church. Join ARocha for a special online service at 11am on 26 March.

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Please support the work of Operation Noah

Our campaigns and activities rely on donations from individuals and organisations so please consider giving a one-off or regular donation.

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