Faith and a Green Recovery – Thinking Global, Acting Local
Thursday, 16 July 2020, 2-3.30pm
02:00 Q&A with Bishop Steven Croft
10:40 Q&A with Bishop Olivia Graham
17:57 Q&A with Dr Jagbir Jhutti-JohalOpen
26:00 General Q&A with all speakers
40:55 Audience Q&A
Speakers:
Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft (Bishop of Oxford)
Rt Revd Olivia Graham (Bishop of Reading)
Dr Jagbir Jhutti-Johal (Senior Lecturer in Sikh Studies, University of Birmingham and Trustee, Faith for the Climate)
Hosted by: Dr Shanon Shah, Interim Network Coordinator, Faith for the Climate
Links referred to in the chatbox discussions:
Bright Now’s update on fossil fuel divestments and the Church of England
A summary of the International Energy Agency’s report on a green stimulus/recovery
Hope for the Future’s excellent webinars, including their Keeping Faith in the Climate series
As the curve flattens in the coronavirus pandemic and countries all around the world prepare to come out of lockdown, there can be no going back to “normal”. Calls for a green recovery and for governments to build back better are more prominent than ever. But how can people the world over ensure that these demands are meaningfully and justly met? Is it possible to create urgent global impact through local actions? Our speakers address these questions and more through their interconnected faith-based climate actions within the UK, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
Historically, many religions combined local reach and global coverage, whether through pilgrimages, relief and humanitarian work across borders, missionary activity or colonial expansion. Their effects on humanity and nature have been constructive, in some cases, but catastrophic in others. What role can people of faith play now to ensure that we can overcome the twin crises of climate change and Covid-19?
This event has now passed, but you can watch the recording of it above.
The Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft became Bishop of Oxford in 2016 and was previously the Bishop of Sheffield. He has been a member of the House of Lords since 2013, is a member of the Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence, the Board of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation and of the Advisory Board of the Oxford Environmental Change Institute. He is co-author of Emmaus: the way of faith (1996-2003), and one of four lead authors of the Pilgrim resource to help adults explore faith. He is author of a number of books including Ministry in Three Dimensions (1999 and 2008). His most recent book is Rooted and Grounded: Faith Formation and the Christian Tradition (2019). Bishop Steve blogs at https://blogs.oxford.anglican.org and is on Twitter (@Steven_Croft).
The Rt Revd Olivia Graham, Bishop of Reading, worked in Sub-Saharan Africa for 13 years before ordination and has seen at first hand the environmental effects of climate change and the way they have impacted on the lives of some of the poorest and most marginalised people on the planet. After ordination she served for 10 years in parish ministry, before becoming a Parish Development Adviser and then Archdeacon. She was consecrated Bishop of Reading in November 2019, and leads the Diocese of Oxford’s Environmental Task Group, which has an ambitious programme for the Diocese to reach net zero by 2035.
Dr Jagbir Jhutti-Johal is a senior lecturer in Sikh Studies in the Department of Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham and is a Trustee of Faith for the Climate. She has over 17 years’ experience in teaching and research, and provides extensive knowledge and experience in Sikh theology, inter-faith dialogue and contemporary issues facing the Sikh community. Her research covers issues of gender inequality, Sikh identity in the diasporic community, mental health, racialization and mistaken identity and other contested issues that confront the Sikh community. Dr Jhutti-Johal is also a presenter on the Thought for the Day segment on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
The event is hosted by Dr Shanon Shah, Interim Network Coordinator of Faith for the Climate. Shanon balanced careers in human rights advocacy, journalism, and theatre and music in his native Malaysia before relocating to London in 2010. He holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from King’s College London and is a Fellow of the London-based Muslim Institute, contributing regularly to its flagship quarterly publication, Critical Muslim. Shanon became Interim Network Coordinator of Faith for the Climate in March 2020.