The Conclusion of the Engagement

ofFossil Fuels

and theBride of Christ

Monday 8th May 12 noonat

Dean’s Yard, Great Smith St, Westminster, London SW1P

3NZ

--- Opening ---(Please join in with words in bold)

Minister: May the dividends of our Lord Fossil Fuel,

the love of Money,and the fellowship of the Marketbe with you.

All: And with your pension fund.

Minister: Money is god, and they who own money

are gods and money owns them.

All: God of Money and might:Power comes from you,and you alone are the source of status and security.Without you we cannot serve

you;without oil, gas and coal, our lives are worth nothing.Send the love of power,and pour into our heartsthat most excellent gift of

money,

that we may worship you nowwith hungry heartsand serve you always with

bloody hands,through fossil fuels.

Amen.

--- A Hymn ---Matchmaker, Matchmaker,

Make me a match,Find me a find,

Make me some cashMatchmaker, MatchmakerLook through your books,

And make me some ready cash.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker,Through death's dark vale

All doom and gloom,My faith grows frail.

Some oil stained cash would fill me with gleeAnd financial security.

For Mamon:Pounds, Euros, dollars!

For Power:We will install a King!

For those, well,I wouldn't bother

If Climate Change destroyed everything.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker,Roofs low on thatch

Don’t pay for themselves.With this useless batch.I once had high hopesAnd now I’m still aloneSo I’ll make some cash,

Of my own.--- The Marriage (Or is it?) ---

--- The End ------ Prayer Vigil ---

Climate ImpactsShort talks about the impact of the Church’s investments in Columbia and Uganda.

A readingCorinthians 13: 1 – 13

Prayers(Please join in with words in bold)

To you, Creator of nature and humanity, of truth and beauty, we pray:

We remember all those who suffer because of climate change.All those who go hungry because they cannot grow food due to drought and irregular rainfall. We remember all victims of the famine in East Africa.We remember all those who cannot breathe easily and have to wear masks because the air is so polluted.We remember those whose homes have been destroyed by hurricanes and cyclones.We remember the people buried by mudslides due to heavy rainfall in Mocoa, Columbia.

This is our cry. Lord listen to our cry

We mourn the destruction of plant and animal life due to climate change.The destruction of ecosystems which support a complex web of life leading to loss of species.The destruction of rainforests by mass logging.The further damage to the corals of the Great Barrier Reef caused by the battering of Cyclone Debbie on the coast of Queensland. The loss of bird and plant life in the wetlands of the Caley valley due to overspill from a coal port in the flooding caused by the cyclone.

This is our cry. Lord listen to our cry

We confess our guilt.We confess our complicity in the destruction of your creation with all the misery it causes now and will cause in the future. We confess our addiction to fossil fuels and the easy lifestyle they give us.We confess our timidity in speaking out about the effects of climate change and challenging those in powerful positions.Our acceptance of a consumer culture which uses up the resources of the earth.

This is our cry. Lord listen to our cry.

We ask your help.Show us our place in this world as channels of your love for all the creatures of this earth.Enlighten those who possess power and money that they may love the common good and strengthen those who are in need.We bring before you the Church Commissioners and their staff. May they listen to the cry of the earth and the poor and those yet to be born, and divest from fossil fuels. May their hearts be moved to put your creation first in making their decisions. Give them courage to invest in projects that bring life not death to your world.

Teach them and us to discover the worth of each thing and to recognise that we are profoundly connected to every creature.Seize all your people with your power and light. Help us to protect all life, to prepare for a better future, for the coming of your Kingdom of justice for all people and for the earth.

This is our cry. Lord listen to our cry.

Praise be to you, O ChristYour Spirit is with us.Your Spirit is with the Church CommissionersPraise be to you, O Christ.

--- A Hymn ---1. Dear Lord and Father of mankind,

forgive our foolish ways;reclothe us in our rightful mind,in purer lives thy service find,in deeper reverence, praise.

2. In simple trust like theirs who heard,beside the Syrian sea,

the gracious calling of the Lord,let us, like them, without a word,

rise up and follow thee.

3. O sabbath rest by Galilee,O calm of hills above,

where Jesus knelt to share with theethe silence of eternity,

interpreted by love!

4. Drop thy still dews of quietness,till all our strivings cease;

take from our souls the strain and stress,and let our ordered lives confess

the beauty of thy peace.

5. Breathe through the heats of our desirethy coolness and thy balm;

let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,

O still, small voice of calm.

--- End of Vigil ---

Divest from Fossil Fuels and End this Engagement!

All fossil fuel emissions cause further warming and more extreme weather across the world.

Keeping fossil fuels in the ground is now primarily a justice issue because burning more of them increases - the destruction of God’s creation - the suffering of the poorest peoples, and - the growing climate insecurity which is predicted for the generations who follow us.

Divestment from fossil fuels and investment in renewables and energy efficiency is first and foremost about respect for God and for God’s gift of life in all its fullness. Its economic and financial aspects must be secondary to this.

We call on the Church Commissioners to end their investments in fossil fuels and to re-invest in renewables and energy efficiency.

--- What is this all about? ---

The Church of England has investments in fossil fuels and is therefore financing the destruction of God’s creation through climate change.

Their reason for continuing to invest is that they are engaging with the industry. The already dangerous levels of carbon in the atmosphere mean there is not time for this to work. We call on the Church

Commissioners to end their engagement with fossil fuels and to re-invest in renewables and energy efficiency.

Christian Climate ActionChristian Climate Action is a community of Christians supporting

each other in following Jesus Christ in the face of imminent and catastrophic anthropogenic climate change, in acts of non-violent

direct action. We are based in the UK.www.christianclimateaction.wordpress.com

facebook.com/christianclimateaction/twitter.com/cclimateaction