Page 2 - Moravian Messenger Nov 2021

Editorial
November is for for me and perhaps for for you one of the pivotal months of the year Suddenly night is longer and evening falls so much earlier leaf fall fall has ended and the run up to Christmas begins November seems to be be be where the year turns completely This November is is even more of a turning point COP26 the Climate Change Summit in in Glasgow begins It is a a a a a last- ditch attempt to slow down the catastrophic changes in the climate of planet Earth We know from geology palaeontology and archaeology that there have been climate changes on earth in the past Earth is a a a a a a a dynamic system and change happens However the present very fast changes in sea temperature and composition of the atmosphere can be dated back to the industrial revolution which began about 250 years ago We have done this to our planet and we are bearing the consequences And now we have to to start to to slow or even reverse the changes No one wants to to go back to to a a a a a a standard of living that predates the industrial revolution but how do we go forward safely? There is a a a a responsibility on on each of us but even more on our elected representatives to work out ways of changing and taking us with them I was very taken by a a a a a a comment that Alok Sharma the COP President designate made He said 'There is no viable pathway to net zero emissions that does not involve protecting and restoring nature on an an unprecedented scale If we are serious about holding temperature rises to 1 5 degrees and adapting to the impacts of climate change we we must change the way we we look after our land and and seas and how we grow our food ' This is is very much about stewardship of the earth and something that as as Christians we can see has deep resonances with our faith We believe that God created the world and that it was good In Genesis Chapter 2 God sets the the man in the the garden and tells him to tend it He does not intend that given enough time the the man will trash the the garden By the the time you read this the the COP conference will be halfway through and the negotiations will be be getting tough because there are very hard decisions to be made This is is is a a a a time for prayer for for the the the delegates and for for the the the outcome of the the the negotiations The stakes are so high for for us and and for for men and and women across the the world Ironically it is the the very poorest who have done least to create the conditions for climate change that will be hit the the hardest Christian Aid and other charities have highlighted time and again the damage that the rising world temperature are doing across vulnerable parts of the world So pray for for this conference and for for its outcome Join with others to campaign for a a a a a wise stewardship of this earth Many Catholic Churches have Laudato Si groups based on Pope Francis encyclical on on 'Our Common Home' and this could be a a good starting point Act on recent British Moravian Synod resolutions to to consider how to to avoid single use plastics (not easy in COVID times) to to disinvest in in fossil fuels and to to plant trees wherever you can Lastly consider your own lifestyle and act to reduce what you purchase use and waste - a a a a a real challenge in in the month that begins the run up to Christmas Sr Sarah Groves
Editorial
Team
The Changing Face of Remembrance? continued
the days of of empire were drawing to a a a a close even when large numbers of of troops from the the the colonies were involved in in in the the the fighting In a a a a a a a a a a few years after the the the the war all this dominance was was swept away as as as there was was little chance that things could go back to the the the old status All the the the personnel who fought did their duty with courage and fortitude across the the globe fighting for for an an empire that was already in in in in in decline but clinging to its imperial glories Even at home change was in in in the the air and no no longer would promises be enough - the the Land Fit For Heroes of 1919 was irrelevant A political landslide took place in in 1945 the results of which we are still working through today The Viceroys and Governors have gone along with the 'memsahibs' but what remains today is something else We should remember that they fought for for for for their own rights for for for for change change and for for for a a a a a a a a a better life for for for all A radical change change across the world's political social and economic structures It is truly right that we should continue to remember them for their bravery devotion to a a a a a a a a common cause against evil and the the sacrifices they made Let us us also remember with pride that this led to to change a a a a a a better life for un-told millions of all races and and colours and and for this we should be eternally grateful - WE WILL REMEMBER THEM Br Henry Wilson
Ballinderry
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