By ACNS staff
Members of three regions of the Anglican Communion today shared their thoughts and concerns about the impact of climate change, and how and why Anglicans should respond.
Following on from the Thursday night public forum entitled Environmental change: understanding the issues and developing a response the Friday morning session heard from several ACC members including the Rt Revd Bill Godfrey, ACC member for the Southern Cone and Bishop of Peru.
Bp Godfrey spoke about the Anglican Communion Environmental Network (ACEN) meeting in Lima, Peru in August 2011. He articulated the close connection between the first three chapters of Genesis and the communion between God and human beings in creation.
He explained that issues of water, food security and power affect his diocese in a very serious way because of the high levels of poverty in Peru. “People often ask me if I work with the poor,” he told the ACC. “My church is the poor.”
The members then moved into groups where they discussed ways to respond to environmental change in their regions.
Archbishop Thabo concluded the session by asking that every Province appoint a person that ACEN could communicate with to continue the work, and noted that the matter was being taking seriously by the Communion but as people of faith more must be done.
He then proceeded to a press conference, accompanied by Fiji’s Bishop Apimeleki Qiliho who expressed his concerns about the rising levels of water in the Pacific Islands. “There can be no doubt” he said “of the reality of climate change”. He revealed that, in the light of recent environmental damage, there was some serious consideration among the residents of the Pacific Islands about resettlement elsewhere.
Listen to the Podcast here
Duration: 13:48 | File Size: 9.48MB