大象传媒

Music
South African Traditional Song
2017 大象传媒 recording of Holy Cross Choir, Soweto

Introduction - Amanda Khozi Mukwashi
Good morning and welcome to this morning鈥檚 Sunday Worship. What a year it has been. Amid the global pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests and uncertainties about our own futures, the stark inequalities that exist in our world have been brought into the spotlight yet again. Our world is desperately unequal. Although a lot has changed in the 75 years since Christian Aid was started by churches committed to providing dignity, equality and justice for all, there is still so far to go. The inequalities we have seen right on our doorsteps are echoed in the inequalities we see globally. And Black and brown people who look like me are often bearing the brunt of these inequalities. One of the starkest examples of this is through the climate injustice that we see every day in our work. Climate change is not a future fear, but a present reality among communities in the global south. It affects the livelihoods of Black and brown people, their health and their ability to take care of their families. This Black History Month, I am reminded that when it comes to climate justice, Black Lives Matter everywhere. This morning we will hear reflections on this theme from friends and colleagues around the world.

Music
Peace like a river
Kensington Temple
CD: Worshipping Churches 鈥� Our God is Good (Kensington Temple)听

Prayer
God, who breathes life into what is dead, who brings light where there is darkness, who brings hope where there is despair, be with us, we pray. In Jesus鈥檚 name. Amen.

Amanda
How can we hear the voices of the prophets crying in the wilderness, who ask us to pay attention, to see what is happening in our planet? We鈥檒l hear two reflections now 鈥� the first from Bob Kikuyu, a theologian from Kenya, and then Solomon Woldetsadik, who works on climate justice in Ethiopia, one of the countries seeing the effects of climate change today.

Reflection: Bob Kikuyu
A young man once heard of the wisdom of an old man and decided to test him. He thought through all the things he could do to stretch the old man, perhaps trap him and prove him not as wise. He then came up with what he considered a bright idea.

So, he rose early one morning and as he walked through the fields, caught a butterfly and trapped it in the palm of his hands. He proceeded to the old man鈥檚 house and told him what he had in his hands. He then posed the question 鈥� 鈥淚s it dead or alive鈥�? He knew full well that if the old man said it was dead he would release the butterfly alive. If the old man said it was alive, he would then kill it by crushing it between the palms of his hands. He waited for the response, convinced that he had finally trapped the wise old man. After a few minutes of contemplation, the wise old man looked into the young man鈥檚 eyes and spoke gently saying, 鈥淪on, it depends on you鈥�.

The earth, this beautiful work of God鈥檚 creation which we have been given seems to be hurtling to ruin. Our news headlines speak of massive forest fires on one side of continent鈥檚 coast and thundering hurricanes on the other. Creation seems to be lashing back. It does not appear to be good in the manner it is introduced to us in Gen 1: 31. 鈥淭hen听God saw everything that He had made, and indeed听it was听very good...鈥�

Perhaps we have misunderstood our role. In the same creation narrative from Genesis 1, much has been emphasised about our role of dominion. The misunderstanding of this term has led humankind to set itself above and outside of creation. This dichotomy has contributed immensely to the abuse of our home. We do not see ourselves as part of creation but rather creation as something we can exploit for our own ends. Our attention to creation if proper, must be on the premise of seeing it and ourselves through the eyes of God 鈥� a loving creator God who saw what He made and it was good. Dominion means that we keep all creation as good, use it for good and nurture it for its good.

Music
South African Traditional Song
2017 大象传媒 recording of Holy Cross Choir, Soweto听

Indigenous people are constantly reminded of their connectivity to the earth by stories and ceremonies. We lack that. But even the one major narrative that reminds us of this from our biblical traditions is one we have ignored 鈥� the Sabbath. The Sabbath in scripture was instituted as a mechanism for providing one day a week on which all creation 鈥� plant, animal and human would experience rest and restoration. This builds up all the way to the 50th year of Jubilee where it becomes a social and environmental reset. But our unquenchable thirst for more as humans leaves us and the environment no time for rest or restitution and all creation suffers for this.

Creation groans awaiting its liberation. That liberation could partly be found now in the return of the prodigal 鈥� and there is only one prodigal here - humankind. There is therefore a call for humankind to return and be part of creation, recognising that we are inextricably linked to each other. If we can return it will be good. If we do not, we can only continue dangerously on the path to ruin.

Is it dead or alive? It all depends on you. It all depends on me.

Reading: Colossians 1.15-20

Reflection: Solomon Woldetsadik
In recent years, the rains in Ethiopia鈥檚 southern region have been late, leading to severe droughts which have brought misery to pastoralist farming communities.

Water holes and grasslands started to dry up and the daily search for pasture for their animals has forced people to move further and further from their homes. It has got so bad that some pastoralists have lost all their livestock, forcing them to rely on food-aid from the government and humanitarian organizations.

Fossil fuel emissions in the global north have distorted our climate so much that our traditional ways of forecasting the weather in the global south are no longer accurate.听 The methods which have served us for generations can no longer be relied upon.听听 If a farmer cannot predict the weather, they won鈥檛 know when to plant their crops and their harvest will be ruined.听 When it comes to climate change, unpredictability is just as dangerous as it being too hot or too cold.

Without action to urgently reduce emissions the climate crisis poses a bleak future for Ethiopia. But there are ways to adapt.

Music
There is a balm in Gilead
Kathleen Battle & Jessye Norman
CD: Spirituals in Concert (Deutsche Grammophon)

A scheme has combined the insights of the Met Office with the power of radio.听 The initiative uses the latest scientific climate information provided by the Met Office and turns this into accessible weather forecasts, broadcast on local radio stations.听 This understanding is helping farmers know the right time to plant, when and where to move their livestock and also when to save for a rainy - or not so rainy - day.

One of the community members told me they had heard on the radio that a drought was coming so were able to preserve some feed and water which meant they were better able to take care of their family and livestock when it struck.

For us, this kind of adaptation is not an optional extra, it鈥檚 a matter of life and death. And the benefits are multiple. A lady from the hamer tribe told me that because she now has a clean water point by her village, her and her children no longer need to walk long distances every day to collect it. This has given them more time to generate extra income so her children can now go to school.

Such simple things, but they bring life and opportunity.听 Our future is still deeply uncertain, the climate crisis continues to worsen, but the solutions are out there. We just need the political will to bring them to reality.

Amanda
Our preacher this morning is theologian and Professor of Black Theology at the Queen鈥檚 Foundation Birmingham, Robert Beckford. But first we hear words from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10, beginning at verse 25 鈥� the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Reading
Luke 10.25-end

Music
Lamb of God
Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir
CD: You are the key (Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir)

Sermon 鈥� Professor Robert Beckford
I've always liked the parable of the Good Samaritan because it contradicts the expected norms of society. In the story, it is the Samaritan, a representative of a despised and disparaged religious-ethnic group, who turns out to be the heroic figure 鈥� he rescues the man in peril. In contrast, the people expected to help the man, the religious people of the day, fail miserably.

Finding justice in unexpected places rings true to me on the question of environmental justice.

Growing up in the 1980s, the music of Steel Pulse, the Birmingham originated Reggae Band taught me about the bond between spirituality and environmentalism.听 I admired the group for several reasons, but their environmental vision challenged me the most.

I admired the band's capacity to engage with the spirit of the age and call attention to how people of faith, and no religion, might respond effectively.

In the 1970s for instance (and I am showing my age now), the band sang about social problems such as mass unemployment, corporate greed and the state violence against black communities.

The band鈥檚 music also reflects critically on the climate crises.听 Their last two studio albums feature poignant, poetic reflections on environmental degradation,听 and the real human cost of climate change.听 They underline throughout our collective spiritual failings, which they believe, produces the apathy, greed and ignorance that make possible and even acceptable the loss of species, the erosion of the ozone and climate catastrophe.

Music
Global Warning
Steel Pulse
CD: African Holocaust

Steel Pulse's analysis of our collective spiritual failure arises from their Rastafarian beliefs. Rastafarians profess a spiritual connectedness of all creation. And, that humanity is charged with the responsibility of maintaining the health of the environment.听 So that all of life can flourish.听 To fail to care is in the language of Jamaican popular culture 鈥渟lackness鈥� -- a systematic failure. I know from personal experience that this Rastafarian commitment to live in balance is true.听 As a student, many of the first black vegetarians or vegans I encountered were Rastafarians.听 They created a new black English, that is, a re-imagining of language to reflect their beliefs. The Rastafarian terms, "I and I" and "I-tal" for instance, denote a spiritual relationship and the natural food stuffs, respectively.

On reflection, my admiration for Rastafari environmentalism was also a result of what was absent from my Christian faith.听

I received my initial Christian education from one of the African Caribbean diaspora churches.听 Our church tradition had no canon of songs that spoke to the social world in the way that Reggae music was able to, and we did not practice an environmentally conscious faith. Our social ignorance and environmental apathy were the results of our Christian doctrine and concomitant spirituality.

European American Evangelical and Pentecostal beliefs informed our understanding of the environment. Like many of the first black churches in Britain, we were supported by sympathetic American churches who underwrote the missionary work of African Caribbean people in the UK. The mixture of American and African Caribbean religious cultures was electric. Our worship was uplifting, vibrant, and our preaching always charismatic and dynamic.听 Yet, nothing in our worship or preaching addressed the question of the environment.听

On reflection, I realise that this was because we were seduced by the idea of God's bountiful provision for all of humanity. Ideas about God鈥檚 bounty were inscribed into favourite songs and scriptures and led us to believe that God would always provide for us. Therefore, we could consume as much as we desire. And, I am sorry to say that the acquisition of things became a signifier of God鈥檚 favour. A bigger house, a larger car a more extended holiday, or an addition to the church building were our signs of human flourishing. The cost to the environment never crossed our minds.

I don't agree with all aspects of Rastafari, and not all the teachings of the black church tradition were disengaged from the social world. Still, in terms of environmentalism, I am sure that if we were to superimpose my experience onto the parable, the outcome would be that听 the Rastas resemble the Good Samaritan and my church, well, we are similar to the ones who walked on the other side of the road.

The parable is timeless. It reminds us to think differently about who is doing God's work of justice. Applying the parable to today's environmental crisis nurtures a suspicion towards the norm and encourages to rethink who is the Samaritan, that is who is being neighbourly to the environment and creation?听 Could it be for instance, that God's desire for environmental justice is more authentically expressed in nonviolent direct-action ecological groups.听 Are they today鈥檚 despised, disparaged, denigrated dispensers of God鈥檚 compassion and justice?

Prayers听
Dear Lord, help us to care for the despised and rejected. Help us to love our brothers and sisters all over the world. Help us to care for your wonderful creation.

We are sorry for the times when we have not loved our neighbour ourselves, when we have longed for more and more material items, when we have acted without regard for the impact of our actions on poor and marginalised communities around the world.

Help us to demand justice for them. Help our global leaders to work together for the dignity and equality of all. Help us to see others as you see them.

We pray this Black History Month for all those who face persecution because of the colour of their skin in all societies around the world. May we work towards a day when there will be true equity for all. Lord, may your kingdom come. In Jesus鈥檚 name. Amen.

And now we pray that familiar prayer that Jesus taught his friends, particularly bringing before God all those who suffer from the effects of climate change all over the world.

Lord鈥檚 Prayer

Music
How great thou art
Boyce & Stanley
CD: Age to Age 鈥� Songs for a Pilgrim People听

Amanda
Thank you for joining us this morning. We鈥檝e heard reflections on climate change from Kenya and Ethiopia, and we鈥檝e been reminded of the call for each of us to care for this planet that God has given us. I鈥檝e been reminded of the people I have met in my travels who live in desperate situations around the world 鈥� they are the prophets whose songs can be heard crying out in the wilderness. I am renewing my commitment to loving these brothers and sisters 鈥� these global neighbours 鈥� as I love myself, just as Jesus asks us to. Wherever your path takes you, may you know God鈥檚 presence through it all.

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you,
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face towards you
and give you peace;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.听Amen.

Music
Unclouded Day
Stellenbosch University Choir
CD: Heaven鈥檚 Flock