The detrimental effects of human activity on the natural world have been well-known for many years, but during 2019 they have risen dramatically up the public consciousness, due at least in part to demonstrations led by groups such as Extinction Rebellion and the involvement of young people all over the world. For Christians, the natural world which we have the privilege to inhabit is created by God, for us both to enjoy and to care for, but that understanding brings with it significant challenges to our discipleship. In Cornwall, work has been going on for some years through the Diocese of Truro to help both individual Christians and their churches to live more gently on the earth, and to equip them to take a lead in their communities on caring for creation. This four week course is designed to help Christian groups think through the environmental crisis facing us today from a Christian perspective and to begin to make some decisions about the changes to all our lifestyles that so urgently need to be made. The course can be used over any four or five week period, but it is offered here particularly for use in Lent 2020, following the Archbishop of Canterbury’s encouragement to the whole Church of England to make caring for God’s creation a focus of our Lent reflections in 2020.
