September 2020

Dear friends,

Welcome to the September edition of Operation Noah’s newsletter. We are busy planning our next Global Divestment announcement in November – there are details below to help you get involved. We also have news of Climate Sunday services taking place around the country and on our blog we’ve been reviewing some resources we think you’ll find useful.

All the best,
The Operation Noah team

Churches across the UK have been holding Climate Sunday services since the initiative launched earlier this month.

Please do let us know about your Climate Sunday services. We’d love to see photos and receive audio and video recordings we can share with Operation Noah supporters.

Organise your own Climate Sunday service using the resources on the Climate Sunday website.

Global divestment announcement – 16 November 2020

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 16 November 2020.

If you would be interested in getting your local church, regional Church structures (dioceses and equivalents) or religious order to make a divestment commitment, we would be delighted to hear from you. This involves making a commitment to divest (disinvest) any investments in fossil fuel companies within a five-year timeframe and a pledge not to invest in fossil fuels in the future.

Please get in touch with Bokani Tshidzu before 10 November for further information or to register your interest.

Read more about why many organisations are divesting from fossil fuels here.

Catholic investment for an integral ecology webinar series

Part 1: Fossil fuel divestment: Accelerating the clean energy transition

Earlier this month more than 200 people attended a webinar on fossil fuel divestment hosted by Operation Noah alongside partners. The event brought together several Catholic organisations to share their experiences of divesting from the fossil fuel industry and supporting a just recovery from Covid-19. Attendees from around the world included bishops, provincials, members of religious orders and trustees.

Watch the full webinar

Part 2: Investment for a green recovery: Innovation in impact investing

Wednesday 21 October 2020, 4.00pm–5.30pm (BST)
Register to join the webinar

This webinar will give an overview of how Catholic religious orders, organisations and individuals can make investments with positive environmental and social impacts. Speakers will include Lord Deben, Chair of the UK's Committee on Climate Change, and Dr Sr Gemma Simmonds CJ.
The webinar series is sponsored by Operation Noah, CAFOD, Global Catholic Climate Movement, the Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative, the Conference of Religious, the Association of Provincial Bursars, Trocaire, National Justice & Peace Network and Justice & Peace Scotland.

Register to join the webinar

Review: Doxecology Album ‘If you’ve ever found yourself standing in a church service on a Sunday morning (or sitting on your sofa watching an online service) and despaired at the lack of reference to creation care in the worship… then Doxecology is the album for you.’ Caroline Harmon takes a listen to new worship album, Doxecolocy.

Book review: _Creation Care & Climate Change: What the Bible says_ ‘I would recommend Creation Care & Climate Change, by Roland Heersink, to Christians who have heard a lot about climate change or global warming but seldom explored what the Bible says about these issues.’ Kevin Shang reviews this book for us.

Events, books and more

Rachie Ross, representing Operation Noah, will be speaking alongside Revd David Bookless and other speakers at an online OMF Creation Care event on 10 October. Register for your free place here.

Hannah Malcolm, an Operation Noah supporter and speaker at a previous Operation Noah AGM, has written a book called Words for a Dying World: Stories of Grief and Courage **from the Global Church. She describes it as a book about theology and climate grief. Contributors to the book include Operation Noah trustee, Holly-Anna Petersen. Pre-order your copy.

Green Christian is holding an online festival, 23-25 October. RE-imagining the Promised Land will inspire us to reimagine a good future for ourselves and all creation. Speakers include Sir Jonathon Porritt, Bishop James Jones, Melanie Nazareth, Revd Frances Ward, Rob Hopkins, Rachel Mander, and eco-poets Caleb Parkin and Carrie Etter. Find out more and register.

Support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill and ask your MP to do the same.

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.