Central England Quakers forms new climate group
Friends in Central England Area Meeting have formed a new climate group
Central England Quakers (CEQ) has discerned that its low carbon work should now continue as CEQ Climate Emergency Action (CEQ CEA) with subgroups and co-clerks. The decision was made at a recent Area Meeting, which followed two special meetings of the former CEQ Low Carbon Commitment Forum. The second was attended by over thirty Friends. According to the minute, Friends need to be ‘bold, outward-looking and willing to speak truth to power’.
Claire Bowman, CEQ ecumenical and interfaith coordinator, said that: ‘Linking climate emergency action to our faith as Quakers is of fundamental importance. I believe that we should follow our precepts closely and mention them often, so that we can bring Friends along with us… The Quaker strength, I think, lies in being able to bring ourselves to face them directly, because we each come to be able to sit quietly with our inner selves in regular silent worship.’
According to Chris Martin, from Cotteridge Meeting, who is the faith community representative on the Birmingham City Council climate emergency taskforce, Wolverhampton Friends will be joining with Central England in this work, as Wolverhampton is also one of the ‘core cities’ within the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) area. Other West Midlands’ Friends will also be welcomed. Chris Martin said that ‘cities have a key role to play in providing “climate leadership” in the run up to COP26 in Glasgow. CEQ CEA will be able to engage with the WMCA and also hopes to share experience with Friends.’
The newly formed group is also planning to concentrate its work on five areas: empowering young people; engaging with city councils; transforming transport; sustainable and fair housing; and building community.
Chris Martin said: ‘To work with integrity, we also need to be looking at ourselves. Other campaign groups, universities, professionals and faith communities are all heavily engaged in identifying the transitions necessary from both a policy, technical and economic perspective. We need to work with others, not duplicate work, and join together at events and festivals. As Quakers, we will need to use new ways of working together in dispersed groups, sharing access to information, video and teleconferencing, as well as retaining the strength of face-to-face meetings for discernment and support. But above all we must empower the younger people who will be inheriting the planet from older generations.’
Comments
Please login to add a comment
