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.

This news is hot off the press!

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 from GCCF is well worth a view!

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.

How exciting and impactful would it be if our current generation of church leaders taught and trained from both books of revelation God has given us? 

The Wilderness Ministry Institute desires to address just that! They are dedicated to supporting churches all over the world who desire to explore this ancient approach (as mentioned in the article) to teaching and mentoring.

Wilderness specific skills training is only a small part of what WMI offers, but it is an important skill set for building relationships and equipping others with an understanding of and vision for creation care.  

If this approach to youth ministry is something you would like to explore further in your church and community, WMI would love to hear from you! They invite you to participate in one of their training courses around the world, or maybe start with an online ‘Foundations of wilderness ministry’ in Spanish or English.  

Please check them out here:

• Website: www.wildernessministry.org
• Social Media @wildernessministry – Instagram – Facebook
• Teachable online classroom: https://wildernessministryinstitute.teachable.com/courses/
• Contact: https://wildernessministry.org/contact-us/

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. 

I truly look forward to The Pollinator and spend the entire morning reading through articles and news every time it lands in my inbox! I draw inspiration from the wonderful work of faithful women and men across the globe doing their bit to better care for God’s creation. It keeps me motivated in my journey even though it is a lonely one in my context at times. The articles have widened my understanding of issues in creation care! I truly appreciate your work in putting this together! Thank you!!”

We are glad to read this, and we hope you (our dear readers) are similarly encouraged.

At the Pollinator, we are always on the look-out for creation care happenings across different directions: not only global event, news, and announcements, but also stories from the grassroots! So, if you’ve a project, story or news about Creation Care that you think would be of interest to others around the world, please tell us! Sending a summary (50-200 words) with a photo or two and a link to a webpage would be splendid. Write to us at creationcare@lausanne.org, and join us in pollinating!

Climate Justice Video Resource: from Jo Knight of Anglican Overseas Aid (Australia) and Rachel Mash, Environment Coordinator for the Anglican Church of South Africa. There are four brief videos with resource questions, which you can find here.

Creation Care Stories: Jasmine Kwong says: “This new website hosts a collection of short films featuring stories of people of faith in God’s creation. These short films highlight creation care stories in different contexts, including a fisherman-pastor living in a rural, coastal community and a local church in a big city. These videos can be used for personal reflection, and can also serve as a launching pad for discussion in small groups and communities. A discussion guide will soon be released on the website.” You can find the stories here and contact connect@creationcarestories.com.  

Creation Care & Christian Mission Online Course from All Nations Christian College. The course runs from Jan. – March. 2025 and examines the reality, theology and praxis of the missional mandate to care for creation, and develop effective, contextually appropriate missional responses to them. For more about costs and registration email info@allnations.ac.uk or look here.

New book on ‘Farming with Faith’ by Bunsak Thongdi from Thailand. He writes, “I’ve compiled a small book detailing my family’s experiences running a farm as a Christian family and using our agricultural journey as a ministry. The inspiration for this book came from a few months ago when I met with a group of Christian organizations focused on Faith and Farming. I realized that, in the context of the Mekong region and Asia, there is a lack of sufficient and contextualized materials for equipping churches on faith and farming (farming as mission).” If you would like an e-book version contact Bunsak directly at kersertoo@gmail.com.

Our Father’s World is the new name for Creation Care SG as it seeks to inspire and equip the Church to love and care for God’s creation, but now with a widened vision for the region beyond Singapore. New details include website, Facebook and Instagram.

JOBS

ECHO: Central America & Caribbean Director: ECHO provides hope against hunger through sustainable food and agro-ecosystem approaches. For more about this post look here.

Laudato Si’ Research Institute is looking for an Integral Agro-Ecology Research Officer, to be based in Oxford, England. For more about this post look here.

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

This is an annual Christian celebration to pray, hear, and respond as a community to the cry of Creation. This year’s Season begins on 1^st September and draws to a close on 4^th October.

The theme this year is ‘To Hope and Act with Creation’, with the symbol of ‘The Firstfruits of Hope’, inspired by Romans 8: 19-25. Here is the celebration guide, a means by which you can follow along, equipped with prayers, reflections and ideas for celebration.

Learn more about the events lined up, and the links for you to join in, here.

This course, part of the IBTS Learning Network, is open to members of all and any denominations (or even if you don’t belong to any denomination!), from anywhere in the world.

The course explores how Christians can respond to the current multiple ecological crises, no matter who and where you are placed. You will acquire biblical, theological, and ecological resources for reshaping your understanding of discipleship and attend to concrete practices that may bear witness to Jesus Christ, cultivating lives that are properly aligned with God’s redemption of creation.

Details are as follow:

• Course begins: 3^rd October 2024
• Duration: 10 weeks, 3-5 hours per week
• Format: Fully online, facilitated course of 10-20 participants, with a weekly virtual meeting
• Cost: 150 Euros, scholarships are available
• Language: English

What are you waiting for? Sign up here!

For more information, including who the facilitators are, head on over to: https://www.ibts.eu/programmes/eco-crisis-and-the-gospel-1