The Green Chalice by Mark Coleman

At breakfast at the Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre yesterday I struggled to explain my research to an undoubtedly intelligent woman. Whilst certainly partly my failing, I was reminded that it is not natural to connect in the contemporary Christian mind (She was a practising Roman Catholic  the Eucharist and the Environment. Of course not ! That's why I am doing my research - that's the problem the research tries to tackle. So you can imagine how encouraged I was yesterday reading the book Greening Paul: Rereading the apostle in a time of ecological crisis which I would humbly suggest is trying to the same with St Paul as I and others are trying to do with the Eucharist. The authors of this book try to develop some "hermeneutical lenses" which are from the Christian tradition and yet at the same time can be the means for its critical reading afresh. I know that this sentence sets up some barriers immediately...

There are deep spiritual/social problems behind our reaction to welfare (and I guess the environmental crisis too): We do not know our neighbour personally so well these days (esp if they are on "welfare" or a distant  African suffering from drought) We are in competition against our neighbour (for resources and do not have the beliefs or ways of thinking to unite us any more (Solidarity, Faith, Identity, etc) We believe some of the suspicious cynical lies around. John Harris is right to highlight the uncomfortable truth that many folk are convinced others are on the make with benefits What do we do ? Keep the faith, work for solidarity, do proper analysis of how things really are, act for justice, reflect, inspire others. Don't lose heart sister and brother, and pray for me that I don't either !