Green Christian is joining with Christian Aid, Tearfund, CAFOD, A Rocha, the Salvation Army, CCA and others in planning a prayerful and powerful climate action in Lent this year. This follows on from the London No Faith in Fossil Fuels service and pilgrimage at The Big One in April last year.

From Ash Wednesday, for ten days, a 24/7 Lent Vigil for Climate Justice will take place outside Parliament.

The Vigil begins with a reflective Service at St John’s Waterloo at 12 noon on Wednesday 14 February. An Ashing ceremony will follow the Service outside in the church garden. From there we will make our way to Parliament where the 24/7 Lent Vigil for Climate Justice will begin at 3pm.

Join with Green Christian, St Albans on Thursday 22 February

GCSA will be at Westminster from 3pm to 8pm on 22nd Feb. Come for the whole time, or just for an hour. Come on your own, or even better, bring others!

Let your church rep know you are coming, or email Kath at stalbans@greenchristian.org.uk We will form a WhatsApp group for the event, so include your phone number for an invite to join it.

Anna is organising some craft activities, and there will be regular times to join in prayer together. Bring something to sit on, and maybe use Christian Aid’s resources and create your own placard to hold or place in front of you as you vigil - Prayers and Placards Activity Pack: www.caid.org.uk/C4CJpack

If you can’t come in person, pray at home! Here’s a guide to Vigil From Home: www.caid.org.uk/vigilhome

Why a vigil?

Prayer is powerful! As we lament the brokenness of creation, we find hope for the restoration of our world.

We have faith that our prayers are heard and can bring transformation, even in the midst of injustice. That is why we gather in vigil, to pray for creation, for our global neighbours, for bold climate action from the UK Government.

Why we need climate justice

Around the world creation is crying out. Heatwaves, fires, droughts, and floods are becoming more frequent, wrecking lives, land, and livelihoods. Meanwhile, the biggest polluters who have caused this crisis make vast profits from fossil fuels. As creation groans, the poorest, who have done the least to cause the problem, are paying the price. Poverty and debt crises mean poor countries are struggling to respond. This is unjust.

Why Westminster?

We believe that the UK Government has a historic and current responsibility to take bold climate action. The extraction of wealth from many nations kicked off the industrial revolution, leading to Britain being the world’s 8th biggest historical carbon emitter.

At COP28, while we celebrated the Loss and Damage Fund becoming operational with support pledged for climate vulnerable countries, the UK’s financial commitments were well below what is possible and came from existing climate funds.

As we vigil, as we pray, we call on the UK Government to:

1. Make the UK’s biggest polluters pay for climate action.

2. Deliver and build on the UK’s international climate finance pledges and pay into the UN’s Loss & Damage Fund.

3. Ban new UK-based fossil fuel projects.

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