And there was a photo contest. Check the details at the John Stott Birding Day website, and plan to participate yourself next year! Here’s a screenshot of the winners.

The long-awaited book John Stott on Creation Care is available now, and was officially launched in London on 19 November by co-author/editor Laura Meitzner Yoder of Wheaton College. (FYI, I have my first copy of the book, and several more on order as Christmas gifts). I really can’t overemphasize how important this volume will be as a reference tool for all of us, and perhaps even as an eye-opener for our pastors and other friends who love John Stott but don’t realize how important creation care was for him.

Order it here in the US. Or here in the UK or elsewhere. Proceeds will go to support A Rocha projects around the world, a cause which Stott would have heartily endorsed.

And please, spend an hour with Laura to hear her thoughts both on John Stott and on what it means to learn how to love our future neighbours (and our present ones, too.) If you’d like to send her a note, you can do so through The Pollinator here. We’ll send it along to her.

This year’s John Stott Lecture will (of course) be held online. This means that many of us who are not in or able to travel to London have the opportunity to join in. And we need to, because this year’s lecture is an important one:

Dr. Laura Meitzner Yoder, who is Director and John Stott Chair of Human Needs and Global Resources and Professor of Environmental Studies at Wheaton College will be “drawing directly on Stott’s writings on creation care” as well as her own extensive experience in researching human-environment interactions in Asia.

Dr Yoder is a wonderful friend of the Lausanne/WEA Creation Care Network, and if we may say so, is probably the most qualifed person in the world today to speak to John Stott’s views on creation care, since she has co-authored and edited a new book that simply must be added to your library: John Stott on Creation Care. The book is available now (on Amazon here; Kindle is available; our earlier post about this book here).

To join the lecture, which will be at 7 pm London time on 11 November, click here for registration information. Tickets are free, a £5 donation is welcome.

“Uncle John” Stott is famous not only for his love of scripture, and his love of Jesus – but also for his love of birds. In recognition, A Rocha are encouraging the entire global family to help remember Uncle John with a global birding day:

Vision & Purpose
The John Stott Memorial Birding Day is an event to commemorate and celebrate John Stott’s legacy as a theologian and birder and his friendship and support of A Rocha in his centennial year.
When?
The event is on 8 May 2021. It is being held on the same day as the ‘Global Big Day’ in which many A Rocha organizations already take part, and we will be using the associated eBird database to facilitate some of our activities.
What?
For detailed information please visit www.johnstottbirding.com.

There are five ways to participate in the day:

• Compete in the bird race
• Enter the photography competition
• Go on a personal or group retreat using resources we have created
• Contribute a story about birdwatching with John Stott and enjoy stories others have submitted
• Bid for a painting or bird book in the fundraising auction or make a donation to A Rocha in John Stott’s memory

There is a Facebook group for participants to connect during the day, posting photographs, stories and comments, and we will be using #JohnStottBirding to connect on Twitter and Instagram. Competition winners will be announced on the website on 17 May.
Contact
Please feel free to get in touch with Jo Swinney, Head of Communications for A Rocha International on jo.swinney@arocha.org. We have also set up johnstottbirding@arocha.org for general enquiries.

You heard it here first: John Stott’s Centenary year will culminate with the publication of new book that collects all – and we do mean all – of his writings having to do with creation care.

John Stott on Creation Care
Publication: IVP (UK), Sept 19, 2021

Preorder here: https://ivpbooks.com/john-stott-on-creation-care
All royalties go to support the work of A Rocha International.

This book draws together the excerpts of John Stott’s writings, sermons, and seminar messages on creation care from 1958-2010.  The narrative thread of Sam Berry’s commentary traces the development of Stott’s thought in this area and the influences on him as he sought to integrate creation care into our understanding of ordinary discipleship and mission within the global church.  It includes Forewords by Ruth Valerio and Ruth Padilla DeBorst, as well as an Afterword by Ruth Padilla DeBorst, and excerpts from Chris Wright’s and Dave Bookless’ writings as well.

The back-story for this book is actually quite interesting: Sam Berry, longtime environmentalist and passionate Christian, had collected and started cataloguing Stott’s creation care materials before the Lord took him home three years ago of years ago. His work came to the attention of Laura S. Meitzner Yoder, Director and John Stott Chair, Human Needs & Global Resources (HNGR) Program and Professor of Environmental Studies at Wheaton College who has brought the work to completion.

If our theology allowed for Patron Saints, John Stott would be the Patron Saint of the Creation Care movement. He was exemplary in his love of God’s creation and active in areas such as encouraging the founding of A Rocha, so the celebration of his 100th birthday is an event of great interest to all of us in this movement.

Julia Cameron, formerly with Lausanne, has sent us this notice of the upcoming birthday celebration. Note that several of the speakers are good friends of LWCCN.

John Stott’s commitment to the environment was ahead of its time. He was a keen birdwatcher, indeed a world expert, having seen and photographed some 2,500 birds. He described himself with a smile as an  ‘orni-theologian’ and wrote The Birds our Teachers to share his delight in birds.

To learn more of his rich ministry and legacy, join the service to mark the centenary of his birth on Tuesday 27th April at 11am. It will be broadcast from his church, All Souls, Langham Place, London at 11am UK time and 11am East coast time. The main speakers are Chris Wright, Ajith Fernando and Ruth Padilla Deborst, with contributions form all continents.  We have special centenary bookstores in the US and in the UK with several new John Stott titles

[This might be an appropriate time to whisper a well-sourced rumor that there will soon be a new book containing all of Stott’s creation-care writings in one volume. Watch for it later this year!]

To join the London-timed service, click here to register.

For the North America-timed one, register here.

As an extra bonus, here’s a video from Chris Wright introducing the event…

…and Uncle John as he was known to friends at 4 years of age:

It happens that almost all of the plenary speakers at this event are members of the Lausanne/WEA Creation Care Network, and most have been presenters at at least one of the LWCCN regional conferences in recent years (see list below).

Here is one video clip from Kuki Rokhum’s talk (see below for the full list – all are available free courtesy Wheaton College and the HNGR program. Thank you, friends!):

Video list:

• Laura Meitzner Yoder, (HNGR)
• Chris Wright (Langham)
• Mark Labberton, (Fuller)
• Myrto Theocharus (Greek Bible College) and Bishop Zac Niringiye (Interface)
• Chris Wright Chapel Address
• Jason Fileta (TearFund USA)
• Ruth Padilla DeBorst (INFEMIT/CETI) and Kuki Rokhum (EFICOR)

Speaker list:

More information:
www.wheaton.edu/academics/academic-centers/human-needs-and-global-resources-hngr/symposium/fall-2019-symposium/
Speaker list:
www.wheaton.edu/academics/academic-centers/human-needs-and-global-resources-hngr/symposium/fall-2019-symposium/speaker-information/