The Green Chalice - What's that ?

Why this blog, and what's the title about ? Thank you for wondering ! For some years I have been asking myself the question how can the Eucharist (Holy Communion, the Mass, the Lord's Supper, etc) help us engage with the vital issue of climate change, and be better citizens of this planet. This has become an area of research for me with the Urban Theology Unit in Sheffield and Birmingham University, and over the last few months some excellent people from the Church where I am a priest (St Mary's and St James' West Derby) have been helping me with this task. They are my co-researchers and I am grateful for their support.

One of the high points has been celebrating together a Eucharist for St Francis' anniversary. We heard stories of his love for animals, we reflected where the bread and wine we consumed came from (the loaf of bread was from Asda but we know Alan baked it !) and we thanked God for "the community of creation" without which there would have been no offering. We were sustained by the bees, bugs, plants, sunshine, water, farmers, shop workers to name but a few who made it all happen. That cool dark October evening the Eucharist brought us closer to all that sustains us - animal, vegetable, mineral, human, Divine.

This blog will follow this thought a bit further - as we experiment together we shall learn, I pray, how to be more engaged.

Beyond Despair

I have been reading a very helpful and hopeful book: The Great Disruption by Paul Gilding. Unlike most authors he takes a positive view of the effect of rapidly rising oil prices, food price hikes and shortages and increasingly chaotic warming climate. How can what will result in economic disaster be positive ? He predicts a period of chaos and instability in nations - it will take a generation in which we make the transition  - but is hopeful about the longer term. We can make a better society not founded on the ideology of constant growth.

What strikes me is the honesty with which he deals with despair. He tells how he burst into tears during a talk he was giving. He refers to other climate commentators like James Lovelock who predicts that the collapse of cvilisation is now inevitable but argues that they are wrong. He says:

While despair is a stage I think we all need to arrive at, individually and collectively, it's also one that we can and must move through. We face the same challenege when we face a serious personal loss. We go from denial to despiar. Then at some point we need to move on from despair - it's not a place in whivh people want to saty , even though it can be a difficult place to leave. This doesn't require us to forget the loss, or deny the sadness, but it does mean that we have to re-find hope and empower ourselves through it. Otherwise we spiral into decay. (Page 101)

It's my firm belief that Christian practice can help us deal with this move from despair to hope.