From the Bishop of Coventry
Sir, - Huw Spanner (Features, 27 February)
asks where the Church's prophetic voice is on climate change today.
He points to the secular green movement, which "tends to think very
positively of the faith communities", and yet, as his article
uncomfortably shows, many of us in the Church have shown widespread
ignorance of the issues, and have been slow to respond to the
growing environmental crisis.
He cites Paul Bodenham: "The core business of the Church is to
be salt for the earth, to be a preservative. The practice of care
for creation has to grow out of faith and worship rather than be a
project."
A conference to be held at Coventry Cathedral on 18 and 19
September will seek to address some of these very issues. Further
information can be found at www.reconcilingawoundedplanet.com.
CHRISTOPHER COVENTRY
The Bishop's House
23 Davenport Road
Coventry CV5 6PW
From Mr Simon Court
Sir, - In view of the chief executive of Shell's announcement
that the oil company intends to restart drilling in the Arctic, how
effective is the C of E's Ethical Investment Advisory Group's
policy to "engage with companies on ethical issues on behalf of the
investing bodies"?
If the Church remains determined to profit from climate change
and fails to disinvest from fossil-fuel businesses such as Shell,
then it might be time for individual PCCs and other church bodies
to disinvest their funds from CCLA and seek more ethical
investments.
SIMON COURT
Eastgate Cottage, Perrys Lane
Cawston, Norwich NR10 4HJ
From the Revd Keith Denerley
Sir, - The Lead Bishop for the Environment (Comment, 27
February) asks churches to commit themselves to shrinking our
carbon footprints, and commends heat pumps and solar panels.
When the diocesan advisory committee and those above actively
encourage us to cover our (listed) church roofs with panels, and
install ground-source pumps in our churchyards, I will happily
recommend such things to our PCC. In the mean time, the price of
our heating oil has been tumbling.
KEITH DENERLEY
1 The Pales, English Bicknor
Coleford, Glos GL16 7PQ