Eco-Congregation Scotland gathering wants to see climate justice on the election agenda

Voters have been urged to ensure that candidates have the environment firmly on their agenda in the run up to July's General Election.

The call came at the annual gathering of Eco-Congregation Scotland, which was held in Stirling just days after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a General Election would take place on Thursday, 4 July.

Eco-Congregation Scotland, is an ecumenical environmental charity which helps churches address climate change, sustainability and conservation.

It works closely with other charities and receives support from the Church of Scotland and other denominations.

Eco-Congregation Scotland deputy chair John Seenan opened the gathering at Stirling Baptist Church with a reminder why it was important that churches engage with issues relating to the environment and climate change.

"In a year when we have a General Election and the Scottish Government is looking at its own environmental targets, we know that stronger action is needed on climate change," he said.

A golden opportunity

Charles Sim, chairman of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum, which has joined Eco-Congregation Scotland and Christian Aid Scotland to develop a new climate justice resource for churches, sees the forthcoming election as a chance to promote a fairer world.

"We have a golden opportunity with the calling of the election," Mr Sim declared.

"This is our call to action as campaigners.

"Please use that call to make sure that every candidate in your constituency knows what is going on in the developing world – global poverty is a blight on the world."

Keynote speaker Jess Pepper, founder and director of the Climate Café movement, explained how people could take action in their local community by providing a safe space in which to discuss environmental issues.

"It will take us all to tackle the climate emergency and the impact it is having," she said.

"A cup of tea and a chat might seem meek and mild, but it is urgently important."

Ms Pepper, who previously worked with WWF Scotland and the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition Scotland, started her first climate café near her home in Perthshire after becoming concerned that people were not talking about the issue and wondering what she could do as the mother of two young children.

"When you chat, people come up with ideas," Ms Pepper commented.

"It is amazing the things that have come out of those chats.

"This is the moment to have that chat, in the run up to the General Election."

Lucy Le Roux of Christian Aid Scotland called on people to write to their MSPs and raise their concerns following the Scottish Government's decision to roll back on its climate change targets.

She also suggested making use of the resources and information available on the Christian Aid website as the election campaign gets under way.

"This is really useful if you end up at a hustings and want to know what to talk about," she said.

A resource for churches

Eco-Congregation Scotland assistant chaplain and probationer Church of Scotland minister Judith Macleod launched a new online resource, "In Global Solidarity: Taking action for justice as global citizens", which has been produced in association with Christian Aid and the Scottish Fair Trade Forum to help people in Scotland, as global citizens, take action for justice.

It also looks at sustainable development goals and the work of Christian Aid with some of its local partner organisations around the world, who Fair Trade helps put people before profit and what churches in Scotland can do to get involved.

The final section looks at global concerns and explains more about Eco-Congregation Scotland, and the importance of understanding our place as global citizens and fellow creatures.

"While the resource is in the form of a PDF, and as such is printable, if you look at it in electronic form you will find it contains all sorts of links to further information, films and personal stories – much more than we could possibly include in any other way," Mrs Macleod said.

"Please do find the time to read it, to explore the links, and to share it with those around you."

She also advised all churches who achieve an Eco-Congregation Scotland Award to share the news about the work they are doing.

"Tell your MSPS, tell the press, tell the community. Don't hide your light under a bushel," she urged the audience.

Crowdfunder campaign

The gathering included the annual general meeting of Eco-Congregation Scotland where treasurer Mary Sweetland revealed the financial challenges the charity was facing. This included seeing its annual deficit more than double from £10,000 to £21,000.

To help address this shortfall, Eco-Congregation Scotland is moving to a membership subscription model to reduce its dependency on funding from supporter denominations, and has launched a Crowdfunder campaign to enable it to continue to support churches and volunteers in faith-based action for nature and climate justice.

Eco-Congregation Scotland chaplain Rev David Coleman has prepared some material in anticipation of an election this year, including an election sermon, which will be available on the Eco-Congregation website.