What a weekend.
- Over 1400 Christians marched together to Parliament to demand climate justice from our leaders
- A whole range of different organisations, denominations and groups came together, including The Salvation Army, Young Christian Climate Network, World Vision and many, many more.
- We got lots of press coverage, including in The Times, The Guardian, The Church Time, Sky, The Daily Mail.
THANK YOU
A whole lot of love, sweat and volunteers made this weekend happen. From those who arrived at the crack of dawn to set up the site, to those who facilitated worship at The Faith Hub. From the stewards, to the welcome team, and everyone in between. We are always overwhelmed by the dedication and generosity of you all. Please know that you are all magnificently loved.
Also a big thank you to all those for who The Big One was your first experience of Christian Climate Action and prayerful protest. Thank you for stepping outside of your comfort zone in this critical time for our world.
HOW CAN YOU STAY INVOLVED?
The Big One has been with a bang. We are aware that for many people The Big One has been a new kind of experience, so we have organised a whole host of online events over the next month so that new people can find out more about what we do and how they can continue being involved. We would love for you to continue your journey of getting stuck in with prayerful climate protest.
CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE EVENTS THAT WE HAVE PLANNED FOR NEW PEOPLE
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE BIG ONE?
For those of you who weren’t able to be with us on the ground – or those of you who were, but didn’t quite manage to catch it all – here are some of the exciting activities that happened at The Big One.
Christian Climate Action, along with a range of other Christian groups, held the No Faith In Fossil Fuels Service at St Johns Church Waterloo. We were expecting around 500 people to attend, but to our surprise around 1400 people flocked to the church to worship our creator God.
So many people came that we weren’t able to all fit in the building and so people spilled out into the garden.
We had moving music from The Salvation Army and Engage Worship. It was a beautiful example of different groups coming together for our collective future, including Tearfund, CAFOD, Christian Aid, World Vision, All We Can, BMS World Mission, A Rocha UK, Green Christian, Operation Noah and more.
After the No Faith In Fossil Fuels Service, we all marched together from St Johns Church Waterloo to Parliament – singing and praying as we went.
On route we stopped by the Shell HQ, called upon them to end all fossil fuel exploration. We held prayers outside the building and listened to The Salvation Army band play. At Shell we
When we were at Shell HQ, Former Archbishop John Sentamu went to hand in a letter at their front door. Shell had locked the doors upon our arrival and refused to allow Lord Sentamu entry.
HERE is the letter which Lord Sentamu tried to hand in to the Shell CEO.
Across the weekend we were joined by a range of different groups of young adults, including the Young Christian Climate Network, Just Love and the Student Christian Movement. It was so great to be able to energise and learn from each other.
It is young people who stand to suffer the most in this climate emergency.
On the Sunday, it was young people who led our noon service. Many people were moved to tears.
We had worship led by our friends from Black Majority Churches.
What they said really brought home the reality of our situation – “Climate change isn’t some far off thing. Climate change is amongst us now”
“Lets speak to the ills of our time. Lets bring to bear those who are in authority, to make the difference that is required for all of us, so that we can enjoy the planet and the space that god has given us.”
We were able to worship together at the gates of power – right on Parliament Square.
It was so powerful sharing communion in this setting. Every time we share in Jesus’s body and blood, it binds us to His life of sacrifice.
It was so powerful sharing communion in this setting. Every time we share in Jesus’s body and blood, it binds us to His life of sacrifice.
WHAT PRESS COVERAGE DID WE GET AT THE BIG ONE?
Our activities over the weekend got a wide range of different press coverage, including:
