Stewards of Creation & Bradford Council Climate Action Plan & A New Bench

We held our first prayer meeting on Weds 21st May, this post is a summary of our conversations and prayers:

Genesis 1 & 2 - What kind of dominion?

We read from Genesis chapter 1 verses 28-31 and Genesis chapter 2 verses 8-20a and asked the question:

1. "What are the relationships between God, the Humans and the Birds and the Beasts?" (hence the triangle in the picture above, though we later added a 4th party: the Plants and the Rivers)
   
   You can see on our diagram above that there are relationships of care and reliance, and God, humans and beasts are united by the breath of God. Genesis 1 says that our relationship with the birds and beasts is to rule and subdue; we explored this further by reading Deuteronomy 17 verse 14-end and asking:
   
   
2. "What kind of rule does God want?"
   
   You can see some of our answers on the bottom right corner of the diagram above; in particular we felt that our rule should reflect God's compassionate and creative character, and a good word for this kind of rule is stewardship.

Some Good News

1. Bradford Cathedral recently received Gold Eco-Church Status.
2. Shipley Baptist Church (our hosts for this meeting) are buying a new bench for their well-used church garden made entirely of recycled plastic. It also looks very striking:
   
   
   
   
   
3. Bradford's clean air zone saved £37,000 worth of GP appointments last year, AND there is a new public information screen in the central reservation of Shipley & Airedale Road near Bradford New College sharing information about successes of the clean air zone.

Pray!

We prayed this prayer for food justice together, and the Lord's Prayer. We also prayed for:

1. Peace. There are no carbon neutral bombs.
2. Rain; our land is looking very dry.
3. Bradford Council's Climate Action Plan (you can find out more and join in the consultation here)
4. Redemption! "Please save your creatures from climate disaster, oh God!"
5. Preparations for COP30 in Brazil in November, particularly for countries to submit their emissions targets (so far only 21 have) and for the establishment of the Tropical Forest Forever Fund (paying countries to conserve their rainforest).

We recommend the Green Christian Prayer Guide.

Our next meeting is at Shipley Baptist Church on 18th June at 7:30pm, you can use this Facebook event to invite people if that is helpful!