ANGLICANS are being encouraged to take forward the Lambeth Call on the Environment and Sustainable Development: recommendations drawn up by the Lambeth Conference last year to be enacted at every level of the Communion’s life (News, 19 August 2022).
It highlights the distinctive perspective of Anglican Churches in being both local and global: “We are the people facing devastation in disaster stricken communities. We are all the polluters, especially in wealthy countries. We are people living in poverty and on the margins. We wield power and political influence. . . We contribute to the problem. We contribute to the solution.”
It emphasises: “We must see the world differently: repenting of and rejecting an extractive worldview which regards the earth and all nature as something to be exploited, and embracing instead a relational world view, at the heart of Christ’s teaching.”
The Communion is urged to transform its mindset and move away from exploitation of the natural world to relationship and stewardship, integrating the Fifth Mark of Mission — “To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth” — in churches; life by bringing the Call to diocesan and parish structures.
Webinars to facilitate the process are scheduled for 20-21 September. They will put particular emphasis on the Communion Forest, an international initiative for which bishops pledged their support last year through a tree-planting and service of commitment in Lambeth Palace garden (News, 5 August 2022).
A former Primate of Central America, who chairs the Communion’s Environmental Network, the Rt Revd Julio Murray Thompson, will chair the webinar. He is leading an Anglican delegation to COP28 in December.
There is a reminder in the Call that the pandemic has exacerbated inequalities and undermined the development gains of recent decades. It is estimated that, as a result, more than 700 million people live on less than $1.90 per day.
Many Anglicans and other Christians are among them, and the situation “can also be seen as a result of human sin in that we have failed to love God, love our neighbour and care for creation”, it says.
At the heart is engaging and equipping churches to work together with their local and global neighbours for transformation, “using our gifts and assets to build resilient, sustainable and just communities in line with the vision for the Sustainable Development Goals as reflected in the Five Marks of Mission”.
To register for the September webinars, visit: lambethconference.org