Flowers in the cracks

Dear Faith for the Climate network, 

If, like me, you were following the news headlines about this year’s UN climate conference, COP30, you would probably concluded that it was yet another disappointment.

But, when I was at COP26 in Glasgow, I managed to speak to and learn from the numerous faith-inspired activists in our network who do fantastic work in these spaces, year after year. I have learned from them that the headlines don’t always capture the depth and breadth of what actually occurs. This is why I wondered if our network would benefit from a special post-COP30 debrief with good behind-the-scenes insights. 

The answer from all of you was a resounding yes to a special webinar, and I’m pleased to say we were not disappointed. Our speakers last Thursday, 4 December — Lindsey Fielder-Cook (Quaker United Nations Office, QUNO), Graham Gordon (Christian Aid), and Sonja Ohlsson (Brahma Kumaris) — each offered inspiring and wise insights from their contributions at COP30 this year. In case you missed it, the recording of the webinar is available below.

Something that Lindsey said made me reflect a bit more deeply about the impact that we all had, together, as Faith for the Climate in 2025. Without denying some of the very real obstacles to climate justice, Lindsey asked us to pay attention to the ‘flowers growing through the cracks‘. What a beautiful analogy, I thought, for how faith communities make a difference, often invisibly, in the face of gargantuan obstacles.

This image speaks to me not because I am a plant expert. Quite the opposite, actually. I think I have what some scientists refer to as ‘plant blindness’ — the inability to notice the plants around me. But, as evidenced in the picture above, there are flowers growing through the cracks even in my parched urban garden!

After Lindsey’s sharing of this visual metaphor, I started to reconsider how brick walls and stone pavements are not as inhospitable as I thought they were. The root systems of wildflowers, their ability to fertilise soil and soak up water and nutrients, and their relationships with pollinators and other wildlife — these all continue to work in what appears to be the dead of winter for us in the Northern Hemisphere such that when spring arrives, we are greeted by poppies, dandelions, clovers, and thistles. Even in cracks in the pavement. 

There is wisdom here about how we continue to make a difference, wherever and whoever we are, in connection with others around us. This final edition of our monthly newsletter for 2025 looks back at how we contributed to flowerings — big and small, visible and hidden in the cracks — of our collective faith for climate justice. 

And, as we approach Chanukah, Yule/Winter Solstice, and Christmas, let’s gently nourish our seeds of hope for 2026. If you’d like to, you can also share these with me by filling the form below. Your input will help to inform our collective priorities as a network for 2026 and beyond. And enjoy our recap of 2025.