'A ‘flash mob’ singing Handel’s Hallelujah chorus, reworded with the lines: ‘Fossil fuel profits are outrageous – Stop Rosebank! Stop Rosebank!’ Photo: The Climate Choir, courtesy Linda Murgatroyd
Friends lead Climate Choir to parliament
‘A pretty name for a dirty business.’ The Climate Choir’s verdict on Rosebank.
Around 150 singers gathered at the House of Commons’ ten-metre-high lobby last week to witness against Rosebank, the North Sea oil field.
Organised by the Quaker-founded Climate Choir movement, the action in St Stephen’s Hall included a ‘flash mob’ singing Handel’s Hallelujah chorus, reworded with the lines: ‘Fossil fuel profits are outrageous – Stop Rosebank! Stop Rosebank!’
Quaker Jo Flanagan, co-founder of the Climate Choir movement, told the Friend: ‘Our message to politicians is: the climate is changing – what are you doing about it?’
More than ten local climate choirs turned up to the witness on 7 March. Jo Flanagan also produced videos to share on social media, where she says the message can resonate long after the witness.
Kate Honey, a composer who wrote the lyrics and led the choir, said: ‘Rosebank is a pretty name for a dirty business. It will contribute to destroying the climate but will not lower our bills. The soaring cost of fossil fuels is the cause of much of the current cost-of-living crisis.’
The Climate Choir movement has grown rapidly since it began in autumn 2022, with more than 700 members in twelve climate choirs in England and Wales, and three more pending. ‘Four out of seven of the Climate Choir core group are Quakers but it’s not a Quaker choir,’ said Jo. ‘We’re trying to grow the moderate flank, so half are activists, and half aren’t. They like singing, think this is fun, and care about the environment.’
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