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)