Conference: Climate of Hope

We are aiming to make as much of the material used at the conference available as possible. If there is something that we haven't made available that you would like to have access to then please get in touch and we will try to get hold of it.

Click here to see photos of Climate of Hope

Keynote address: Sir John Houghton

Audio recording 15MB (click here to listen to it online)
Presentation slides 13MB (the link takes you to a blank page, and the file automatically starts to download)
Video combining audio and slides 92MB (if you are having difficulty playing this video then we suggest you download quicktime or itunes)

Morning workshops:

Why climate change is hitting the poorest people hardest: Led by Ben Niblett (Tearfund) and Lindsey Pearson (Christian Aid). Why climate is such an urgent development issue. Sharing of ideas about how to get the message to our churches and communities.
Ben Niblett's list of useful resources
Low Carbon: High Joy: Led by Rev. Mark Powley (Breathe) How do we change our lifestyles without becoming eco-pharisees? What difference could a distinctively Christian sense of grace, joy and hope make to our approach to climate change? How can we encourage each other to make bold changes, and can the church play a role?
- Audio recording 13MB (click to listen to it online)

Eco-congregations- Making churches part of the solution instead of the problem: Led by David Hughes (A Rocha) and St Chad's Green Team. The workshop shared some ideas and stories about green churches and provided an opportunity to discuss the challenges and triumphs of persuading churches to take a lead in their communities. It particularly focused on eco-congregations, an A Rocha initiative which helps to 'green' every area of church life, from services and childrens work to buildings and finances
- Presentation slides in PDF format (14MB)
Afternoon workshops:
How to change the world: Led by Ben Niblett (Tearfund) and Lindsey Pearson (Christian Aid). Come and share ideas about how ordinary people can bring about very big changes through campaigning and lobbying.
How to combat climate scepticism: Led by Sir John Houghton and Dr John Lockwood. After all the scientific advances of the 20th century, it was reasonable to expect that the 21st century would see reason and scientific truth triumph. This is not proving to be so, with an increasing abundance of superstition about subjects like climate change, resulting in a lack of security and hope. The reasons for this are discussed together with how Christians can combat it.
- Audio recording 12.5MB (there are a few minutes where the microphone didn't make it to the person speaking)
  - Discussion paper. This was written by Dr John Lockwood for this workshop, and is entitled 'Superstition , Climate Scepticism and Christianity'

Low carbon church buildings 'ancient and modern': Led by Ewan Jones and Jenny Lawrie. Are you keen to reduce the carbon footprint of your church but unsure where to start? This workshop will give a crash course in spotting the best opportunities to have a positive impact, as well as addressing issues that are specific to church buildings. Please feel free to bring your own questions and experiences
to share.
- Presentation slides in PDF format (3.1MB)
- Group exercise to reduce the carbon footprint of a fictional church:
Climate Change- does theology matter?: Led by Dr Paula Clifford (Christian Aid). This workshop explores approaches to climate change based on biblical and relational theology. We thought about how the theology we choose directs the response of Christian churches and communities.

Climate of Hope Proceedings — 14-Mar-2011 06:36:00

Climate of Hope website launched — 24-Oct-2010 07:02:51

4C Conference name chosen: Climate of Hope — 28-Sep-2010 20:12:44

4C Conference 2011 — 11-Sep-2010 05:50:33