The Wave

Saturday the 5th December saw a doughty crew of familiar faces from the Churches in Roundhay, REAP, Friends of the Earth and many other organisations, blearily joining a special chartered train to London. Drawn from all ages from families with young children, to pensioners, and from all walks of life, the journey was a very enjoyable social event, but had the deadly serious purpose of demanding a comprehensive deal at Copenhagen for real action to prevent global temperatures climbing more than 2°C.

In London, we attended the Ecumenical Service at Methodist Central Hall led by Church leaders ranging from the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster to leaders of the Evangelical Alliance. We heard movingly from people already directly affected by drought in Kenya, and flooding in Bangladesh (two countries contributing very little to CO2 emissions), before Rowan Williams spoke on the popular and foolish error of those who say there is a choice between looking after human beings, and looking after the planet. He spoke of human beings as part of the great interwoven system of life and how, as creatures, we depend on the health of the world around us. He spoke of the need for us to be set free from the myth that human beings exist somewhere else than in the world as it truly is, and asked us to share the good news with the rest of the human race that there is life for us, life for our neighbours, and life for the creation in which God has placed us. [To read his sermon go to http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/2661]

Then it was off to Grosvenor Square for the March to Parliament. After a slow departure, we marched via Piccadilly, some of us meeting Peter Mandelson and Ed Miliband along the way. Then it was up Whitehall, with the front of the March encircling Parliament in a Blue Wave. Then tea - provided for some by the Mothers' Union - and off for the return train.

Was it because the March was so well behaved, that the media hardly seems to have noticed perhaps 50,000 people parading through London? But we took comfort that senior politicians were out on the street talking to demonstrators. The proof however will in the outcome of Copenhagen, and what future generations may have to say about us.

Bill Urry

Bill with Peter Mandleson and Ed Miliband

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nigel Jones chatting with Peter Mandleson and Ed Miliband

 

 

 

 

 

28 December, 2009