The John Ray Initiative in the UK is hosting another in their ongoing series of webinars. This one will be held on 4 February 2 – 5:30 pm UK time. The event features author Norman Wirzba of Duke University and JRI’s own Margot Hudson.

On Saturday 4th February 2023 (2.00pm to 5.30pm) JRI will be holding a joint event with CRES on Zoom. Norman Wirzba is Professor of Theology at the Divinity School, Duke University, USA. He will speak on “Loving the Land that God Loves” looking at the theology of the land. Rev Margot Hodson is Director of Theology and Education for JRI. She will speak on “Stewardship of God’s Land“, considering some of the practical aspects of the ownership of the land by the Church.

Remaining places are open to all. The event is free although donations will of course be welcome. There will be a break mid-way through the programme and opportunities for discussion. To find out more and to book your place please click on the button below. When you register for the event an email is automatically generated, please check your Spam box! The Zoom link will be sent out separately to those registering to attend.

Click here for more information and to register for the webinar.

The John Ray Initiative in the UK has produced an excellent series of Briefing Papers over the years. The latest, #47 by Robert White, should be of particular interest to creation care practitioners:

So-called ‘natural disasters’ such as floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions affect huge numbers of people every year. Yet these very processes make the Earth a fertile, habitable place. It is almost always human actions, or lack of action, that turn natural hazards into disasters. Those in low-income countries, the poor and the marginalised, suffer most and are the least able to rebuild after disasters. A Christian perspective recognises the reality of the brokenness of this world caused by human sinfulness, coupled with the certain hope of a new creation where there will be no more disasters and where all creation will reflect God’s glory.

More details and the full paper (free!) are available from the JRI website here.

We lost a hero this week. Sir John Houghton, 88 years old, passed away in a Care facility near his home in Wales UK on 15 April. Known to the world as the head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s scientific assessment group and lead editor of the first three highly influential IPCC reports, he was a strong evangelical Christian, a passionate advocate for bringing faith and science into the same room, and he was a brother and friend to many of us who are working to bring his work to the attention of the church community.

We will have more say about Sir John in our June Pollinator, but for the time being, here is a list of some of the main tributes to his life and character:

John T. Houghton Wikipedia

Obituaries

John Ray Initiative (Sir John was one of the founders)

Hannah Malcolm, Sir John’s granddaughter, wrote a moving tribute on Twitter. An easy to read version for non-Twitter users is HERE

Church Times

Francisco Martín León writes in tiempo.com: Muere Sir John Houghton, climatólogo y editor fundador del IPCC (in Spanish)

The Weather Channel

Rev Dr Jim Ball: Sir John- a View from the States

Powys County Times

BBC News (17:51 16 Apr)– mostly quotes Hannah Malcolm’s tweets (see above)

Jesus College, Oxford