Being Right and Fair to all our fellow creatures

 We held our September Eco Prayer meeting on 16th September at Shipley Baptist Church. As normal, we sought to Learn, Share and Pray.

Learn - Paul's instructions to the Christians in Colosse

We read Paul's words from his letter to the Colossians chapter 4 verse 1:

"Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven."

We asked ourselves who we need to be taking care to be right and fair towards, and how we might do that.

Paul's specific instructions concern slaves: people who were under the power of their masters and vulnerable to ill treatment by them. None of us have slaves, but we need to be careful to be right and fair towards:

1. Service suppliers and staff - we spoke about the "Do not abuse our staff" notices that we have seen in shops and services.  
2. Other creatures - in a very visible way, we humans rule over the land that they live on.
3. The land itself.
4. Producers - of the food we eat and the other things that we buy, many of them who live a long way from us and are much poorer than us and more vulnerable to ill treatment.

How can we navigate this complicated world in such a way as to be right and fair towards all these? We encouraged one another to appeal to the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, in the daily decisions and process of our lives. We also want to be shaped by the Bible, and by the advice of others both Christian and not.

Share - thank you for the rain! 

We thank God for the rain that is re-greening our land.

On a recent visit to Baildon Moor one of us was struck about how more trees and a new ecosystem is developing there since the land had a break from being grazed. 

It is also encouraging to see how many showings of the People's Emergency Briefing are happening in Bradford, and that the associated petition has gathered more than 120,000 signatures, so will be considered for a parliamentary debate.

We also shared news of some other upcoming local events:

• A follow-up event to the People's Emergency Briefing will be held at St Peter's Church on 4th October.
• Apple Day at the Bowling Park Allotments on 11th October.

Pray - for the humans and the other creatures

We prayed for the following things:

1. PEACE in Ukraine, Sudan, South Sudan, Congo, Lebanon and Iran.
   
   
2. In Bradford, pray for people to go to showings of the People's Emergency Briefing (and thank God that Bradford Council is helping publicise them):
• Clayton, Methodist Church 20 September
• Heaton, St Barnabas Church 25 September
• Bradford, City Hall 30 September
• Haworth, Parish Church 03 October
• Fountains Church, 11th October (one of us is helping to run this one, prayers particularly appreciated)
• Undercliffe, Community Works 23 October.
  
  and we prayed for the follow-up meeting at St Peter's on 4th October.
  
  
3. Also in Bradford, this Saturday (19th Sept) is the Nature Big Day Out at Bingley North Bog (part of the 1 year old Bradford Pennine Gateway National Nature Reserve). Pray for:
• Lots of people to come and
• be blessed by time in nature and
• discover that peat bogs and their creatures (curlews, herons, bats, kingfishers and dragonflies) are worth them caring for.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
4. During August, the world’s oceans outside the polar regions had their highest ever average surface temperature; this followed the highest recorded July temperatures. Pray for:
• Pray for ocean creatures affected by ocean heatwaves (corals, kelp, seagrasses).
  
• Low lying countries like Bangladesh, where people are affected by more frequent flooding.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
5. The UK government is considering whether to approve a new oil field (Rosebank) and a new gas field (Jackdaw) in the North Sea. In their manifesto Labour said they would not allow any new oil or gas fields.

Please continue to pray for these things 🌍🙏💚

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 21st October at 7:30pm at Shipley Baptist Church, use this Facebook event to advertise it. 

Streams in the Desert and the fight against Desertification

We met on Wednesday 19th August to Learn, Share and Pray together.

Learn - Streams in the Desert

We read Isaiah 35 together, which begins:

"The desert and the parched land will be glad;

    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;

    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,

    the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;

they will see the glory of the Lord,

    the splendour of our God"

We talked about how we approach the prophetic parts of the Bible (expect poetical imagery that is talking about God's plans for the future) and asked:

1. What is this chapter giving us a picture of?
2. What, then, should we do?

You can see our notes below; apologies that these are less colourful and readable than normal, our normal pack of pens was accidentally left at home.

We agreed that the chapter is a picture of God's blessing of his people:

• Healing for infirmities and sicknesses.
• Flourishing and fruitfulness for the land; dry and barren places became fertile ("streams in the desert")
• Judgement on their oppressors and salvation for God's people.

How does this chapter speak to us today?

1. It tells us that It will all End Well.
2. Water, growth and fertility are not insignificant: they are Good Things to be enjoyed and promoted.
3. Wait for God's salvation... but also Act to bring it about in the world now.

Share - Clean air in London and Bradford

We shared some good news, local and national:

• We are cautiously optimistic that Bradford's clean air zone will continue to exist (which has reduced GP appointments for breathing difficulties by nearly 600 a month since it was introduced).
• A study published today showed great improvements in the lung capacity of children living within London's clean air zone.
• Bradford Council's monthly climate action newsletter has restarted (renamed to "Sustainable Futures" newsletter, you can sign up here), and this month is publicising showings of the National Emergency Briefing in the area.

Pray - Restoring Land, Restoring Hope

We prayed for:

1. PEACE in Ukraine, Sudan, South Sudan, Congo, Lebanon and Iran.
   
   
2. The 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will be hosted by Mongolia in its capital city, Ulaanbaatar, from 17 to 28 August 2026 under the theme “Restoring Land, Restoring Hope”. Pray that they succeed in their aim to:
• “forge solutions to the interconnected challenges of desertification, land degradation and drought, recognizing that restoring land is also essential to reducing instability, preventing displacement and strengthening human and national security in vulnerable regions”
  
  We also know of a couple who work in Ulaanbaatar to translate the Bible and share the gospel with the people of Mongolia, and we prayed for their work too.
  
  
3. The UK government has announced plans to require importers to ensure that their products are not causing illegal deforestation.
• Praise God that this is supported by major supermarkets (last July they wrote to government asking for this legislation).
• Praise God that similar EU laws come into effect later this year.
• Pray that the UK laws will happen on time (2027) and be effective.
  
  
4. In Bradford, pray for people to go to showings of the National Emergency Briefing (and thank God that Bradford Council is helping publicise them):
• The Ridge Medical Practice, 20th August (for staff).
• Keighley, Civic Centre 29 August
• Bingley, All Saints Church 1 September
• Cottingley, St Michaels & All Angels 10 September
• Clayton, Methodist Church 20 September
• Heaton, St Barnabas Church 25 September
• Bradford, City Hall 30 September
• Haworth, Parish Church 03 October
• Fountains Church, 11th October (TBC)
• Undercliffe, Community Works 23 October.
  
  
5. Pray for the comfort and help of people affected by recent climate-affected disasters:
• Wildfires in Spain (made 20 times more likely by climate change)
• Wildfires in the Gironde region of France (at least twice as likely)
• Torrential rain and floods in Afghanistan which have killed 31.
• Typhoons and floods in China which have killed 21 people and required 890,000 to be evacuated.

Please continue to engage in prayer battle for all these needs 🙏🌍💚 

We will meet again on Wednesday 16th September at 7:30pm, at Shipley Baptist Church, please use this Facebook event to share the details.

Persevering in our Prayers for a Transformed World

 We held our 15th Eco Prayer Meeting on 15th July at 7:30pm at Shipley Baptist Church. As ever, we sought to Learn, Share and Pray.

Learn - the way of Faith

We read the whole of Hebrews chapter 11 together, and asked:

• What is faith?
• What does it do?
• What does this faith do in us? 

You can read our notes in the picture above. In summary:

• Faith is essential to us, and an essential part of God's plan.
• It looks ahead to things not seen.
• It enables great works and perseverance in suffering.
• Can strengthen and sustain us as we look for a restored and transformed world.

Pray

We prayed for:

1. PEACE in Ukraine, Sudan, South Sudan, Congo, Lebanon and Iran.
   Some information about South Sudan (15 years old on 9th July):
• 12.7 million people, very poor, lots of ethnic groups.
• The treaty that ended the 2013-2020 civil war collapsed last year, and there is increasing fighting between the army and armed groups.
• More than two-thirds of the population and around 300,000 refugees in need of some form of humanitarian assistance.
  Tearfund are working to provide aid, support farming, and build peace through local structures
  
  
2. In Venezuela, Tearfund staff have asked that we pray for:
• Tearfund’s local partners respond to people’s needs. 
• Wisdom, discernment and protection for Tearfund leaders as they coordinate the response and prepare for new projects.
• Local churches continue to be a beacon of hope and resilience in their communities. 
• Divine guidance during the recruitment processes for staff who will work on the humanitarian programme.
  
  
3. People suffering in the heatwaves across Europe and the UK.
   
   
4. In Bradford, Reform council leader Stephen Place has said the clean air zone should remain in place, but that the charges should be scrapped, arguing they had a negative impact on businesses. Pray that:
• An agreement can be found that keeps Bradford’s air clean(ish).
• The £3m that funds environmental projects from the charges can still be found somehow.
  (Air pollution contributes to 1 in 20 deaths in Bradford; GP appointments for breathing difficulties are down nearly 600 a month since the CAZ was introduced.)
  
  
5. In the UK, National Emergency Briefing have called for “a prime-time televised emergency briefing on the climate and nature crisis”. This is supported by 99 MPs and some Lords. There is an online petition which has 32,000 signatures. Please pray for:
• MORE signatures, if it reaches 100,000 parliament will debate it.
• More MPs to support the campaign.
• Government to DO SOMETHING, maybe with their annual Statement on the State of Climate and Nature (first one was July 2025)

Please keep on praying for all these things 💚🌍🙏

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 19th August at 7:30pm at Shipley Baptist Church. Use this Facebook event to invite others, hope to see you there!

Technology, Magnificat Humanitas and Refrigeration

We held our 14th Eco Prayer Meeting on 17th June 2026, at Shipley Baptist Church.

Learn - A Theology of Technology

We read this quote from Pope Leo's recent publication, Magnificat Humanitas ("Magnificent Humanity"):

“To disarm [AI] does not mean rejecting technology but preventing it from dominating humanity. It means freeing technology from monopolistic control and opening it to discussion and debate, therefore making it human-friendly and restoring it to the plurality of human cultures and ways of life. Our task today is not only ethical or technical. It is ecological in the deepest sense, for it concerns a new dimension of our common home.”

We read two bits of the Bible that relate (sort of) to technology:

• Genesis 11:1–9 (The Tower of Babel)
• Nehemiah 5 (rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem)

We asked:

1. What technology were they using?
2. How did they see themselves as humans?
3. How were they behaving?

We saw that:

• The people of Babel were self-focused and wielding the power of technology in an imperial and dangerous way.
• Nehemiah was setting an example for the other leaders of Jerusalem, challenging them about their exploitation of the poor and bringing them to repentance.

Share - Some Good News

Some of us have been to a showing of the National Emergency Briefing recently; some more of us are planning to go, and some of our regular attenders were not present because they were at a showing RIGHT NOW(/THEN)! We were encouraged by the fact that the estimated cost of changing the UK's infrastructure and economy from high emission to a low emission was only £4bn per year until 2041.

On 25th June Bradford Cathedral are holding an event called Re:Imagine Migration, "an open and thoughtful conversation about one of the defining issues of our time". Some of us are planning to go. 

A team of scientists are using underwater drones to try to thicken Arctic sea ice, thereby slowing down warming in the Arctic. Also on the theme of refrigeration, Kenyan farmers are benefitting from solar powered cooling to store their crops.

Pray

We prayed for the following things:

1. PEACE in Ukraine, Sudan, Congo, Lebanon and Iran.
   
   
2. In Bradford, pray that the Reform group’s proposals to scrap the clean air zone will not succeed.
• Public Health England estimates that air pollution contributes to 1 in 20 deaths in Bradford.
• GP appointments for breathing difficulties have dropped by nearly 600 a month since the clean air zone was introduced.
• NOTE: Bradford is still under a Ministerial Direction from central government which requires a Clean Air Zone, so no party can legally get rid of it.
  
  
3. In the UK, pray that people at showings of the National Emergency Briefing short film will be touched and challenged. Pray particularly for Bradford showings: 
• TONIGHT in Bowling (St Stephen’s Church),
• June 27th in Shipley (St Peter’s Church).
• July 10th in Shipley (Global Justice Bradford)
  
  
4. Pray for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Bonn, which finishes on 18th June (tomorrow). The context and the details of the discussions that happen at the annual Conference of Parties (COP) are decided at this conference. Pray for:
• Delegates and governments to be convicted of the urgent need for action.
• Wise decisions on the Adaptation Framework, and membership of the Adaptation Board.
  
  
5. That Pope Leo’s words in his Magnificat Humanitas will be heard by people and leaders.

Please keep on praying for all these things 🙏💚🌍

Our next meeting will be on 15th July, 7:30pm at Shipley Baptist Church. (Use this Facebook event to advertise it)

War and Peace and the works of the Lord

 We met for our first anniversary Eco Prayer meeting on 20th May at Shipley Baptist church (our first meeting was in May 2025!).

Learn - Psalm 46

We read Psalm 46 together and asked:

1. What does the Psalm say about:
1. How God is an "ever-present help in trouble"?
2. How God "makes wars cease to the end of the earth"?
2. Why are these two things (God being an ever present help and his making wars cease) put together in this one Psalm?
3. HOW does God make wars cease?

You can see our notes above 😊. In summary:

1. God's people will not fear, even in terrible circumstances.
2. God's holy temple (WAS: Zion, NOW: his church) cannot be destroyed by the wars and chaos.
3. God makes wars cease through people and through our prayers (see later).

Share

Good news that we had heard about recently:

• One of us had been to a meeting of the Baptist Union Environment Network recently and was encouraged to see the environmental action being taken across the Baptist family.
• A long and arduous campaign to stop Harrogate Spring Water expanding its facility which would have resulted in the destruction of Rotary Woods was recently successful, when councillors rejected the planning application. The woods were planted by schoolchildren over twenty years ago and is a valuable and much loved site.
• There has been no more bombing of Iran in recent weeks (although there is still fighting in Lebanon, see prayer points).

Pray

We prayed for:

PEACE in Ukraine, Sudan, Congo, Lebanon and Iran.

Focus on war in the Democratic Republic of Congo 124m people, 10 times the size of UK In the east of the country there are more than 100 armed groups M23 is the largest armed group: Rwanda not-very-secretly supports M23 for protection from other armed groups and the Congolese army. USA is supporting peace talks between Rwanda and Congo. Quatar is supporting peace talks between M23 and Congo. There are lots of valuable minerals in the area. Many people have died or been forced to flee. There has been a lot of sexual violence.

In the UK, a new film from the National Emergency Briefing - a climate change information group - was released on 7th April

Pray that:

1. People in Bradford will go to showings on 
1. May 29th in Shipley (Global Justice Bradford) [book here]
2. June 13th in Clayton (St John’s Church) [book here] 
3. June 27th in Shipley (St Peter’s Church) [book here]
2. More screenings and more action! 

In Bradford, we have a very different looking Council after our recent local elections.

Reform have 29 of the 87 seats, Conservatives, 18, Labour 17, Green 9, others 14. Please pray for:

1. The Holy Spirit to work in all our councillors, particularly the new ones.
2. Stephen Place, the group leader of the Reform councillors.
3. Council work on local climate action and protection of nature to continue.

The United Nations 2026 Global Report on Food Crises

This report showed that 266 million people in 47 countries/territories around the world experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2025, ⅔ of those in 10 countries:

• Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Myanmar
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• South Sudan
• Sudan
• Syria
• Yemen

Pray for more funding for humanitarian and development work.

Give thanks for the work that is being done, e.g.: 

• food and hygiene kits given to 30,000 in Tigray in Ethiopia.
• 65,000 trained in new farming methods in Mozambique

Please continue praying for all these things ❤️🙏💚

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 17th June at 7:30pm, at Shipley Baptist Church (you can use this Facebook event to promote it) 

It's YOU ....

We held our 12th Eco Prayer Meeting at Shipley Baptist Church on 15th April.

How does God act?

We read Exodus chapter 3 verses 1-10 and Nehemiah chapters 1 and 2 and asked:

1. How does God feel about what is happening?
2. What does He do about it?
3. How does He do it?

We said:

1. God is concerned: in Moses' case he tells him this directly; in Nehemiah's case we can see that Nehemiah's concern leads to:
1. Prayer and fasting
2. Aligning his heart with God and what God wants
3. Meditating on God's description and promises from scripture and using them in his prayers
2. God rescues his people
3. God does his rescuing through people, in Nehemiah's case through a person who shows 
1. Dependence on God
2. Courage 
3. Planning and organisation

We also compared ourselves to Nehemiah:

1. What issues are on our hearts?
• Wars
• A famine of God's word
• Climate change, destruction of the earth and the systems that cause it
• Lies in politics and the public space
2. What can we do about them?
• ASK GOD what we should devote or energies to.
• Protest 
• Write to MPs/decision makers.
• Talk to others in appropriate ways about our cares and what we are trying to do about them

Some good news

• Bradford has an e-bike hire scheme and people are using them! E-bikes in general are good news for Bradford as they make cycling a much more viable option in a hilly city.
• The rise in fuel costs is causing a lot of hardship for people; there has also been a 50% rise in enquiries about solar panels. 
• We heard about one of our employers who is running a salary-sacrifice scheme to help people buy e-bikes. 

Pray

We prayed for the following things:

1. That God would show us what to devote our time to (following our study points above).
   
   
2. PEACE in Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Iran.
   
   
3. In the UK, a new film from the National Emergency Briefing - a climate change information group - was released on 7th April. It presents the national implications of climate and nature breakdown along with action people can take in a 45 minute film designed for screening in communities across the UK. Pray that:
• People in Bradford will go to showings on May 29th in Shipley and June 13th in Thornton (you can see a map of all the screenings here).
• Groups all over the UK will take up the challenge to organise screenings.
• Voters and decision makers will heed the call to action
  
  
4. The 1st conference on Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels is hosted by Columbia and Netherlands in Santa Marta from 24th-29th April. The conference has different aims from the annual COP, focusing on:
• Participation by the willing, rather than persuading others.
• Action rather than further diagnosis.
• Solutions that meaningfully support the transition rather than delay it
  Pray that the conference members will lead the way in healing the earth.
  
  
5. Local elections in England, and assembly elections in Scotland and Wales take place on 7th May.
• Pray for campaigning to be done righteously.
• Pray for the winners to serve humbly
  
  
6. Fashion Revolution Week, organised by the Fashion Revolution Network (a global network in 75 countries) takes place from 22nd - 28th April. Pray that they will succeed in their aims of:
• Encouraging us to be more curious and informed about where our clothes come from.
• Trying to change the behaviour of producers and retailers to fight pollution, climate change and poor working conditions.

Our next meeting will be on 20th May, 7:30pm at Shipley Baptist church, use this Facebook event to advertise it.

Submitting to authorities (most of the time)

We held our 11th Eco Prayer Meeting at Shipley Baptist Church on 18th March.

The Authorities That Exist... 

We read Romans chapter 13 verses 1-7 and Daniel chapter 3 verses 1-18 and asked what these two Bible passages are telling us about State Authorities.  

Some important points that we made:

• In some mysterious way, the (state) authorities that exist have been appointed by God. We think this is something to do with the way that they seek to maintain order.
• Even authorities that do some really horrible things (like the Babylonian empire that Daniel was a part of and the Roman empire that Paul was a part of) are still God-appointed and worth of respect.
• BUT there is a line beyond which God's people should go, as demonstrated by the early Christians who refused to worship the Roman Emperor, and the Jews in Babylon who refused to worship the golden image.

What should we do?

• Be aware of the false Gods of our time.
• Respect our authorities and laws.
• Hold our authorities to account.
• Pray for our Council, Parliament and government and expect good things from them.
• Lead the way in doing right

Sharing our good Eco news

We shared some encouraging news of Eco things we have seen recently, lots of them related to things we are trying to grow in our own gardens.

Pray

We prayed for the following things:

1. Authorities: we prayed for the work of our political representatives and our Council.
   
   
2. PEACE in Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Iran. As well as destroying lives, military activity – from the mining of elements to the rebuilding of destroyed buildings – is estimated to contribute 5.5 to 6% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
   
   
3. In the UK, a new film from the National Emergency Briefing - a climate change information group - will be released on 7th April. It presents the national implications of climate and nature breakdown along with action people can take in a 45 minute film designed for screening in communities across the UK. Pray for:
1. Many groups to take up the challenge to organise screenings.
2. Voters and decision makers to heed the call to action.
   
   
4. The UK Big Walk and Wheel scheme which is taking place 16-27 March (NOW!): schools compete to get the most pupils walking/scooting to school
1. Thank God that 2,486 schools with 775,820 pupils are registered.
2. Pray that children and staff will take the message to heart.
   
   
5. In Bradford, the Council and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust are launching a Nature and Wellbeing programme, to support people in developing green spaces in the City. The scheme is partly inspired by the Lister Community Action Group who spent years turning a fly tipping alley into a green space.
1. Thank God for the hard work of people in Bradford who love and care for our green spaces.
2. Pray for more!
   
   
6. Pray for global decision makers:
1. China’s government will be releasing its next Five Year Plan and passing a new ecological and environmental code.
2. EU leaders will meet to discuss energy pricing.
3. Colombia and the Netherlands, backed by 22 nations, are developing a roadmap to fossil fuel phaseout, beginning with a conference in April in the coal port city of Santa Marta, Colombia
   
   
7. Pray for people affected by Cyclone Gezani in Madagascar and Mozambique, and by winter storms in in Spain, Portugal, France and Morocco. One town in Spain received a year’s worth of rain in a single day; 18 people have been killed in Portugal; 43 people died in Morocco

Please keep on praying for all these things 🙏🌍💚

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 15th April, 7:30pm, at Shipley Baptist Church (Facebook event!).