In the run-up to COP26 in Glasgow, over 2,200 churches and church groups throughout Britain and Ireland participated in the Climate Sunday Initiative, addressing climate change by holding Climate Sunday services, committing to practical action and speaking up for climate justice.
Climate Sunday was resourced by a coalition of 31 denominations and charities, members of the Environmental Issues Network (EIN) of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI). The coalition, though time-limited, aimed to leave a lasting legacy of churches committed to ongoing action. Its members will continue to provide opportunities for local churches to make climate action a significant part of their discipleship and mission and to contribute to civil society efforts to secure adequate national and international action.
Briefing for Churches on Key Climate-Related Issues Post COP26
The Environmental Issues Network, which brought you the Climate Sunday campaign, recommends the following three themes as priorities for climate campaigning by churches in 2022, while the UK still has the presidency of COP: ending fossil fuel development in the UK, compensation for Loss and Damage, and Ecological Conversion. You can find a briefing paper on these issues put together in collaboration with the members here.
Worship
Hold a climate-focused service to explore the theological and scientific basis of creation care and action on climate, to pray, and to commit to action.
Explore our resources page for inspiration and worship resources to suit all church traditions. Don’t forget to register your service so we can count you in!
Commit
Make a commitment as a local church community to taking long term action to reduce your own greenhouse gas emissions.
Join one of the existing programmes
such as Eco Church, LiveSimply,
Eco-Congregation Scotland or
Eco-Congregation Ireland.
Speak up
Use your voice to tell politicians that you want a cleaner, greener, fairer future at the heart of plans to rebuild a strong economy.
We encourage churches to keep holding climate focused services, commit to a greening scheme, and to keep campaigning.
For this reason CTBI/EIN will be maintaining the Climate Sunday website. You can find here the materials we’ve created and collected for worship; ways of getting involved in practical action through Eco Church, Eco-Congregation Ireland, Eco-Congregation Scotland, or Live Simply; and updated suggestions from Climate Sunday members for speaking up. You can also find some of the highlights of the initiative. We pray these will be of use as you and your church start or continue your journey. Please do get in touch with any of our partners if you’d like further help.
Climate Sunday Highlights
The collective action and commitments from local churches across Great Britain & Ireland were presented to UK Government at a Nations' Climate Sunday Service in Glasgow on
Sunday 5 September 2021. Find out more and watch the service
Climate Sunday brought the action and commitments of local churches across Britain and Ireland to COP26, sharing videos and our report on churches’ activities at our stall in the COP26 Green Zone. On 18 November 2021, we hosted a webinar, where members of the Climate Sunday Steering Group who were at the COP shared their impressions.
Watch the webinar.
What’s next after COP26? In January 2022, we hosted a webinar where members of the Climate Sunday Steering Group who were at the COP shared their impressions.
Watch the webinar.