Blog

This week in our blog, John Seenan, the Catholic representative on the board of Eco-Congregation reflects on the work of Eco-Congregation and how the call to be involved reaches out to everyone.

I’m sure you share with me the anxiety that climate chaos is one of the greatest challenges facing mankind. We have only to look at the devastating impact of dramatic weather patterns across large areas of the globe: extreme temperatures, resulting in extensive flooding or lack of rainfall, with consequent crop failures, and the complete destruction of settlements that lead to the break-up and displacement of entire communities. 

Yet despite its awesome scale and impact, we as individuals can do something about it. Our faith tells us we have responsibility for the stewardship of the planet God has entrusted to us – that’s a useful starting point.  And Pope Francis’ papal encyclical Laudato Si is an invaluable guide - a landmark work on the subject, underpinned by the words of scripture and held in high esteem by a wide cross section of those directly involved in trying to manage the problem. 

The Holy Father lays out the responsibilities placed on us all as we face this great challenge, and points to the role we, as individuals, are called to play.  That has helped to put our task into perspective and informs a number of bodies that now provide practical assistance and guidance.

Eco-Congregation is one of those bodies. It was dedicated on 19th September 2000 at a service in St Paul’s Cathedral, London, and Eco-Congregation Scotland (E-CS) was officially dedicated at Dunblane Cathedral on 28th March 2001.

Representatives of all the major denominations signed a pledge committing the churches to the E-CS programme. Today, over 400 congregations of different denominations are Eco-Congregation Scotland members.

Eco-Congregation Scotland is a registered charity that enthuses and equips churches to weave environmental issues into their life, worship, and mission in an enjoyable and stimulating way. There are twenty local networks, run by volunteers, who encourage each other to do more to help the environment locally and globally. One full time and three part time members of staff administer the programme and provide resources, regular contact, regional networks, talks and workshops, a monthly newsletter and a web page. They also arrange to have churches assessed for an E-CS Award. 

The programme has three strands:

• Spiritual living - making the link between environmental issues and Christian faith.

• Practical living - taking action in the church and in the home to reduce our environmental impact.

• Global living - influencing attitudes and taking action in local or global communities on issues affecting climate change.

The Scottish Government has funded E-CS since 2003, along with a number of other church bodies and development charities such as SCIAF. The Scottish Government has a vested interest in continuing support, as E-CS can help achieve the government’s own ambitious ‘green’ targets. But Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, would like the membership of E-CS to reflect more closely the denominational structure of churches in Scotland – and so would I.

There are around 3,800 Christian churches and assemblies in Scotland and 405 are registered as eco-congregations. Of those, only 24 (5%) are Roman Catholic. The Church of Scotland has 282 eco-congregations (20%), and the Scottish Episcopal Church has 59 (19%). Wouldn’t it be wonderful to increase the number of Catholic eco-congregations?

That’s a big challenge as there are around 452 Roman Catholic churches in Scotland. Along with a delegate from SCIAF, I represent the Catholic Church in Scotland on the E-CS board. I hope we can increase the number of Catholic Eco-Congregation churches and fulfil our faith’s responsibility to steward the planet responsibly.

Why not find out more about E-CS? Email manager@ecocongregationscotland.org, visit the website www.ecocongregationscotland.org, or call 0131 240 2274. 
And why not put this year’s Eco-Congregation Annual Gathering and AGM in your diary? Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EL on Saturday 28th April 2018, 10:00am – 3:15pm.  The meeting will celebrate the International Year of Young People – and our aim is to leave this planet in a better state for the next generation.

On 22 April Earth Day, Catholics around the globe are invited to show mercy to our common home through acts of prayer, education, service, and advocacy. This is in support of Pope Francis’ call for renewed commitments to care for creation in his Laudato Si document, in which he asked us to ‘show mercy to our common home’.

This week, singer / songwriter Frank O'Hagan writes our new blog and reflects on his musical influences and their connection to Dr Martin Luther King Jr and the civil rights movement.  

One of the highlights of my career as a singer songwriter was in July 2014 when I was invited to support Mavis Staples at the ABC 02 Glasgow. I had been an admirer of the Staple Singers and the father of the group, Roebuck "Pops" Staples for over fifty years since the 1960s. Pops (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000) was an American Gospel and R&B musician, a pivotal figure in gospel in the 1960s and 1970s and patriarch and member of singing group, the Staple Singers, which included his son Pervis and daughters Mavis, Yvonne, and Cleotha. For me to meet Mavis Staples was an honour and a privilege that I had not expected.

I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with Mavis Staples in the green room after the concert and it was an experience I will never forget. She was aware of my interest in her father and his involvement with the civil rights movement and we spoke about Rosa Parks whose actions led to the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott in 1955 – a turning point in the history of the plight of black Americans. I was simultaneously elated and humbled when Mavis Staples made a positive comment about my song describing the event. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKRbBWuPpxQ. 

Mavis recalled that, after hearing Martin Luther King preaching in Montgomery Alabama in 1963, her father wanted to sing what Rev. King was preaching about and after a meeting with King later in 1963, Pops began writing freedom songs in support of the American civil rights movement.

It is no accident or coincidence that Pops Staples and Martin Luther King sang from the same hymn sheet regarding social justice. Both men were steeped in gospel values, King from his ministry as a Baptist preacher and Pop Staples from his gospel singing tradition and this was inextricably linked to their shared values concerning social justice and human dignity.

In King’s Sermon at Temple Israel of Hollywood delivered 26 February 1965 Rev. King, Jr. focused on the question “Who are the least of these? ” (St. Matthew 25). I used this quote from St. Matthew in a song entitled ‘What did we ever learn from history?’   which refers to the rhetoric of Rev. King.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z49ZIjzgY7Q 

In this tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, may I conclude by quoting a section of that speech and sermon, which related so closely to today’s issues of justice and peace:

“Who are the least of these? The least of these are those who still find themselves smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in an affluent society. Who are the least of these? They are the thousands of individuals who see life as a long and desolate corridor with no exit sign. Who are the least of these? They are the little boys and little girls who grow up with clouds of inferiority floating in their little mental skies because they know that they are caught in conditions of economic deprivation. Who are the least of these? They are the individuals who are caught in the fatigue of despair. And somehow if we are to be a great nation, we must be concerned about the least of these, our brothers.

“And we’ve been in the mountain of indifference too long and ultimately we must be concerned about the least of these; we must be concerned about the poverty-stricken because our destinies are tied together. And somehow in the final analysis, as long as there is poverty in the world, nobody can be totally rich.”