COP26: Christian Churches holding ‘Climate Sunday’ ahead of Glasgow conference

By Lisa Zengarini

Less than three months remain before the UN Climate Conference hosted by the Scottish city of Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November.

To prepare for that event, several Christian organizations are multiplying their awareness and advocacy initiatives, and are encouraging people to take concrete actions in the fight against climate change.

One such event is "Climate Sunday", an initiative launched last year by the Environmental Issues Network (EIN), which operates under the auspices of Churches Together in Great Britain and Ireland (CTBI).

Churches and congregations across the British Isles are invited to hold a local Climate Sunday on any Sunday before the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26). Christians are called to participate through prayer, reflection, and climate initiatives.

Wide base of support

Climate Sunday forms part of the liturgical period known as the “Time for Creation”, which runs from 1 September to 4 October each year.

Over 1,500 Churches in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland have joined the Climate Sunday initiative.

CAFOD, the charitable agency of the English and Welsh Bishops' Conference (CBCW), is also supporting the event.

Road to COP26

The aim is precisely to contribute, with the testimony of the Churches and Christian organizations, to the lobbying activities of civil society organizations, so that concrete actions at national and international levels against climate change are agreed at COP26.

The climate action and commitment of Churches in Britain and Ireland will be presented to the Government in London at an ecumenical celebration organised on Sunday, 5 September, in Glasgow Cathedral by Churches Together Glasgow. The event will be live-streamed.

Glasgow conference

COP26 offers “opportunities for activism, for learning, and for putting into practice what we believe in,” says Very Rev. Dr. Susan Brown, convener of the Anglican Church of Scotland's Faith Impact Forum. “We need to ensure that the voices of those who are experiencing the effects of climate change are heard loud and clear."