On 16 December, 75 faculty, staff, and students gathered at Wheaton College, Illinois, USA to celebrate and to bless the launch of the Korean Invitation: Good News for All the Earth. Twenty readers each read aloud one paragraph of the newly published document, and we had a time of reflection and prayer over the invitation as it goes out.

For some of the attending students, the most impactful part was who did the readings. Students in Sociology, English, Art, etc. were happy to see their professors or known staff members there, reading or just attending. What a great demonstration that creation care is not limited to the natural sciences.

I (Laura) shared about the drafting process. After initially considering some possible additions to the 2012 Jamaica Call to Action, it became clear that we needed to begin the invitation with a fuller biblical and theological framework for creation care within the scope of the biblical narrative than had been written before in Lausanne documents. Participants in the October 2024 Global Creation Care Forum each brought unique insights about the priorities, neglected areas, and the phasing that would resonate with our communities and the constituencies we know well. Contributors came from a wide array of backgrounds, ranging from urban professionals to farmers, spanning many decades in age, having distinct vocations and livelihoods, representing different kinds of institutions and churches, and from different socioeconomic backgrounds and political circumstances. The biblical call on our lives we have in common, and the outworking of that takes unique shape in each of our contexts.

May God help us come to see our right place in creation and to live accordingly, for the glory of God and for the good of all that God has made, and redeemed, and sustains. We share our closing blessing with you and also ask you: With whom will you share the Korean Invitation in your own context? – your church, colleagues, neighbors, pastoral leadership team, community sustainability group? May it spark new conversations and ignite prayerful action!

(Prayer by Nina Mantlaba)

Heavenly Creator, we thank you for convening sisters and brothers from around the world in fellowship to collaborate and create this document. We pray that its prophetic voice will reach far and wide, and that your church will incorporate creation care into their everyday mission and lifestyle, to proclaim and demonstrate your Lordship over the world.

In this season of Advent, God, thank you for the reminder that your good news is for all the earth. You sent your one and only child not only for the salvation of our souls, but also for the liberation and renewal of the physical world we live in.

We repent of our inaction – of our unwillingness to let go of power and harmful patterns of individualism, consumerism, and greed. Lord, we pray that amidst these groans and lament, you fill us with your radical hope. Fill us with a prophetic and creative imagination. Of visions of how this world, your world, can be different, and transformative solutions that lead us into action on every level – big and small, corporate and individual. And equip us with ears to hear, and eyes to see how to accompany and center those most vulnerable, most impacted by our sinful misuse and abuse of your creation. Renew us in the new year to continue your work in the world.

In your name we pray, Amen.

Readers stood in a circle as attendees arrived

In relation to that, we offer here some links from the participants of the Christian Climate Observers Program (CCOP2024@COP 29), carefully compiled by Samuel Chiu.

CCOP is a joint program by 15+ Christian organizations, providing immersive discipleship and training at the annual UN Climate Conferences (UNFCCC COPs) for young Christian climate advocates, scholars, and ministry leaders. This year at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, CCOP had 25 participants from 12 nations, plus 7 leaders providing guidance, teaching and logistic support.

You can find a collection of their reflections, blog posts, interviews and so on here: CCOP2024 Team Members – Reports, Blogs, Articles, Reflections. This publicly accessible page is an ongoing collection, with new links to be added when received from the team in the next couple of months.

We hope these aid your awareness, consideration and prayerful reflection of the COP happenings!

See www.climateintercessors.org for more information.

CI meets over Zoom every second Tuesday of each month. The first one in 2025 will be February 11th.

• The ones in the following months would be March 11th, April 8^th and May 13^th

Those who are interested can check the above website and subscribe to the e-newsletter, along with the virtual gathering details and monthly bible studies / devotional.

Our meetings typically have four parts: a brief liturgy, praying about current news gathered from the headlines, praying about a more developed theme, and then using breakout rooms to pray for local requests.

The 4^th Lausanne Congress and the Global Creation Care Forum (GCCF) were both important for the future of creation care globally. Don’t miss this update from those who were there! 

Leaders from around the world will share their reflections on both these events. We will also introduce the statement/invitation ‘Good News for all the Earth’—there will be time for questions!

Time: 11.00 am – 12.00pm UTC, repeated 7.00pm – 8.00pm UTC | Date: 12 December 2024

The webinar will be on Zoom and is free entry.

Sign up here: https://buytickets.at/lwccn/1451019, choosing which timing you prefer!

Please note that there is an optional donation to cover LWCCN’s costs.

If you haven’t yet seen it, this short video below from GCCF is well worth a view!

In this issue, we feature two thought-provoking pieces on COP29:

1. The first, by climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe. Katharine provides a summary of the outcomes and gaps at COP 29. She critically examines the balance between the bold pledges for coal phaseouts, and the frustrating lack of progress on fossil fuel commitments.

2. Then, news from Jocabed Solano, a theologian and activist, from the indigenous Gunadale natio in Panama. You would be familiar with Jocabed—we published her interview in relation to COP16 in our previous issue! She has shared this statement from the World Council of Churches on COP29.

Jocabed pictured here with Samuel Chiu (part of A Rocha Canada) at COP 29.

We would like to draw your attention to an A Rocha-hosted conversation by Dr Rodel Lasco, A Rocha International Trustee and Director of the Oscar M Lopez Center. Rodel is a member of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), an expert on biodiversity, and a pastor.

“Our planetary life support systems are starting to fray under the weight of human activities. Come and hear Rodel’s appraisal of the current state of biodiversity globally, how we can respond with hopeful action, and the exciting plans for A Rocha’s growing presence in South East Asia.”

Time: 13.00 – 14.00 UTC | Date: 11 November 2024

Tickets (free! with an optional donation to A Rocha) are available here.

By the time you get this issue of The Pollinator, COP16 in Cali, Colombia will have concluded. But what is ‘the other COP’ and why does it matter to us as Christians … and to everyone else?

Firstly, to clear up any confusion, COP is UN jargon and simply means ‘Conference of Parties’ so there are numerous different COPs, not just the better-known Climate ones. COP16 is the 16^th global gathering on biodiversity. Some foundational questions:

Why does biodiversity matter?The Nature Conservancy, with Prof Katharine Hayhoe as Chief Sicentist, states: “Biodiversity is the bedrock of life on Earth, underpinning our global economy, combating climate change, and sustaining the food systems that nourish the world. Yet, we are witnessing an unprecedented crisis: habitats are vanishing, and up to a million species face extinction, threatening the lives and livelihoods of the billions of people who depend on them.”

Why was COP16 so important?COP15 in 2022 saw the Kunming-Montreal Protocol at which governments committed to stopping biodiversity loss globally by 2030. This agreement is as important for biodiversity as the 2015 Paris Agreement was for climate. Yet, most of the detail was left to be sorted later, and by the start of COP16 only 23 out of 196 countries had submitted comprehensive plans. COP16’s theme was ‘Peace with Nature’ calling for a new relationship between humanity and the earth. A Rocha states: “This aligns with A Rocha’s vision of a world where nature flourishes as people live equitably and sustainably.”
Key issues include:

• Protecting 30% of the earth for nature by 2030
• Financing of nature conservation. Only 2 countries had met their targets prior to COP16.
• Putting indigenous communities at the heart of conservation. Indigenous people are 5% of the global population yet it’s calculated they protect 80% of biodiversity (FAO report).
• Reforming how business uses nature (tackling biopiracy and harmful subsidies, getting businesses to disclose their impact on nature).

What’s this got to do with Christian faith? A Rocha’s statement says: “For Christians, caring for the earth is rooted in God’s concern for life in all its variety. This theme is woven throughout the Bible, … and we are accountable for our use or abuse of the earth and its creatures”. COP16 has seen greater Christian engagement than previous biodiversity COPs and amongst LWCCN members, Juliana Morillo from Colombia has been part of the host team, Jocabed Solano represented the World Council of Churches, and A Rocha’s delegation has included Sarah French (A Rocha International), Seth Appiah-Kubi and Daryl Bosu (A Rocha Ghana), Avinash Krishnan (A Rocha India), María de los Ángeles La Torre Cuadros (A Rocha Peru) and Cyrie Sendashonga (Rwanda, consultant).

For more see A Rocha’s summary and Jocabed’s interview.

Please continue to pray with us that conversations at COP16 will turn into firm commitments from governments, businesses and that we will indeed see ‘Peace with Nature’, shalom in our common home.

WUF12’s Faith Pavilion is the latest development of a decade-long engagement and trust building between UN-Habitat and religious organizations spearheaded by the WEA. The pavilion provides a space and a platform for faith organizations, leaders, and practitioners to explicitly engage in dialogue about urban development from a religious perspective, learn from the global community of urban experts, practitioners, and agencies, as well as find ways to collaborate in designing, building, and funding sustainable urban development for the common good. 

With sessions on housing, resilience, creation care, social cohesion, and so on, the pavilion will showcase impactful, faith-based initiatives and foster cross-sector collaboration for the sustainable, inclusive, and just cities we need.  

Learn more here.

Looking ahead, we plan on hosting Faith Pavilions at all future WUF’s (every two years) and hosting a UN-Habitat Faith-Based Urban Thinkers Campus in the in-between years. If this is an area of interest, do consider submitting a presentation for the forthcoming Faith-Based Urban Thinkers Campus in 2025 (dates and submission details TBD) and/or participating in the Faith Pavilion at WUF13.  

For more information contact Chris Elisara at celisara@worldea.org. 

So, there has been much anticipation about two recent major global gatherings in South Korea. The 4^th Lausanne Congress, 22^nd-28^th September, was vast, with over 5,200 in-person delegates from 200+ countries joined by thousands more online. The hospitality of the Korean church was wonderful: we were greeted and served by over a thousand cheerful volunteers who had used their holiday to help. There were many good things that emerged, yet from a creation care perspective Lausanne 4 was a mixed bag. Positives included a superb plenary talk by Katharine Hayhoe and four afternoon ‘GAP’ sessions on ‘Creation Care and the Vulnerable’ where there were many new faces and a real buzz. However, sadly, there was a lot of disposable plastic, much of the programme focused on a narrow definition of mission and it felt as if creation care was seen as simply one of many special interest groups rather than core to discipleship and mission. We clearly still have much work to do within Lausanne!

The three Lausanne Creation Care Catalysts: Dave Bookless, Benita Simon, Jasmine Kwong

The second gathering was the GCCF – Global Creation Care Forum – held in the beautiful, forested hills of the Somang Retreat Centre in Gonjiam, with more than a 100 people from over 40 countries. GCCF was planned as a kind of ‘Jamaica 2’, in reviewing how the creation care movement has grown, listening to global voices, and discerning next steps. Most sessions were interactive, with stories, table-discussions and resource-sharing, but we also had input on theology and science, time in regional and thematic groups, and intense discussions throughout mealtimes and often late into the night. There was lament and mourning over the state of our world and the paralysis of many of our leaders. There was also laughter and joy, as friendships were deepened, connections were fostered and plans discussed. We are developing a document, called ‘The Gonjiam Invitation: Good News for all the Earth’ with two sections: the first giving a solid biblical basis for the Gospel as God’s good news for all the earth and creation care as core to mission, and the second spelling out the concrete actions that need to be taken at every level from the personal to the planetary. Once this is complete, we’ll share it through The Pollinator and invite you to sign it as well as share it with others. We will also share more reports, videos, resources and stories from the GCCF over the coming months! This short video gives you a taste!

The Global Creation Care Forum in Gonjiam included people from over 40 countries

Overall, my sense after Lausanne 4 and the GCCF is that creation care is an unstoppable force! As I was writing this, waiting between flights in Hong Kong, a complete stranger sat next to me, saw I was writing about creation care and excitedly asked if she could join the movement! From every part of the world Christians are being challenged by the ecological chaos around us to turn to God and the bible for wisdom, and the Holy Spirit is calling more and more individuals and organisations to transform their priorities in caring for God’s world.

Dave Bookless, Lausanne Catalyst for Creation Care

We’ll be sure to share the Urban Placemaking recording once we have it, but in the meanwhile, here are a few nuggets from that conversation:

“Christian Placemaking is a faith-based, community-engaged, and sustainable process of creating spaces that embody the principles of creation care, social and environmental justice, and holistic well-being. It seeks to honor the inherent dignity of every person, empower communities through participatory involvement, and reflect the values of God’s Kingdom in the built environment.” Chris Elisara

Helpful books on a Christian understanding of place and particularly urban spaces:

• Philip Sheldrake: The Spiritual City: Theology, Spirituality, and the Urban
• Craig G. Bartholomew: Where Mortals Dwell: A Christian View of Place for Today
• Eric O. Jacobsen: The Space Between
• Timothy Gorringe: A Theology of the Built Environment
• Philip Bess: Till We Have Built Jerusalem