2009 Global Action Magazine

8/8/2019 2009 Global Action Magazine

1/7

3PRAY

ERS

3ACTI

ONS

BEPART

OFAM

IRACLE

AUTUMN 2009

MAKING HEADLINESBONN AGAIN

DREAM ON

CAPED CRUSADER

MAKING CLIMATE HISTORY

THE GREAT PERSUASION


2/7

LaytonThompson/Tearfund

HOW

BEAUTIFULONTHEMOUNTAINS1. Making headlines2. Bonn again3. Dream on

TheprophetIsaiahtellsusHowbeautifulonthemountainsarethefeetofthosewhobringgoodnews,who

proclaimpeace,whobringgoodtidings,whoproclaimsalvation,whosaytoZion,"YourGodreigns!"(52:7)

InthisruralUgandanvillage,accesstowaterisverygoodnews.Rainwatertankseasetheburdenofyoung

girlshavingtospendhourseachdaycollectingwaterfortheirfamilies.Theirtimeisfreedtogotoschool,

helpgrowthecropsthefamilywilleat,andenjoytheirchildhoods.

Asthelocalchurchbringsthepracticalgiftofcleanwatertothevillage,moreandmorevillagersarecoming

throughthedoors,takinginthegoodnewsofsalvationandproclaimingOurGodreigns!

EvenifyounevermakeittothemountainvillagesofUganda,youraction,prayersandgenerositywill.

Upontheheightsyourgoodnewsiswellreceived.


3/7

MAKINGHEADLINES1.

PRAYER

BONNAGAIN2.

PRAYER

The command to love your neighbourlooks dierent in every situation. But orSara Shaw and Richard Weaver, Tearund'sclimate change policy advisers, it has

involved spending weeks o this year inBonn, Germany, lobbying or a air andstrong climate deal.

This year is huge or climate change. All eyes will be on

Copenhagen in December where world leaders must sign a strong

climate deal, but those ew weeks beore Christmas are just the tip

o the iceberg o all the earlier negotiations.

So how is a climate deal that meets the needs o the poorest

people made? Well, it's a lot o work. And a lot o that work takes

place in Bonn.

Countries have been meeting throughout the year to discuss what

the deal could look like. At these meetings in Bonn and beyond,

negotiators have been discussing the language and targets that

will become the building blocks at Copenhagen. Getting a UN deal

can really drag on, but time is ticking or the millions o vulnerable

people already living with climate change. This is where Richard

and Sara come in.

Sara and Richard are Tearund's climate change policy advisers,

the global churchs voice in Bonn. Together with hundreds o otherclimate justice lobbyists, they've been immersing themselves in

the talks, helping to push governments to get a move on. So when

rich countries put weak proposals on the table, Richard and Sara

are there to call them out. They're reading drats, eeding into

discussions and generally trying to raise the ambition levels o

countries blinded by short-term sel-interest.

Richard and Sara are just two o the thousands o people all over

the world putting everything into sealing a strong and air deal

this year. They're taking on impossible workloads and pushing

themselves to the limit to see this deal through. Sara says, 'It's

a lot o work, but we're driven by a belie that a strong climate

change deal is what the world needs.'

Richard reminds us that not any deal will do. 'Success o this

deal must be measured by how it benets the poorest and most

vulnerable those who are already most aected by climate

change. I it doesn't work or them, then it's not a good deal.'

PLEASE PRAY:

For Richard and Sara as they work to makesure poor peoples voices are heard at thesemeetings:

ForSaraassheworkstosealadealthathas strong targets in the lead-up toCopenhagen. Currently, only very weakemissions reductions targets that will dolittle to protect the needs o poor peopleare on the table.

ForRichardashelobbiesgovernmentstoprovide the unding developing countriesneed to adapt to climate change and develop

in a sustainable way.

Forleadershipfromdevelopedcountries. The world needs much more ambition iwere to get a good deal at the end othis year.

Headlines don't lie they tell us what we want to hear. Daily

newspapers blast reports o c elebrity break-ups or breakdowns, the

paper clip an MP expensed and Lily Allen's twitter eed. In the age

o the 24 hour news cycle, headlines vie or our attention, and our

money. The news refects what we care about or at least what the

media and advertisers think we do but not always what we ought to.

Stidia is a 13-year-old girl in Kigazi village, Uganda, and the ace

o Tearund's Make life owcampaign. Beore her local church

mobilised the community to provide a rainwater tank or her amily,

she was orced to spend our hours each day walking up and down

dangerous, rocky mountain paths, acing potential attackers and

rapists, experiencing physical exhaustion and neck pain, oregoing her

education, to collect water or her amily. This is the stu o celebrity

reality TV show challenges, yet it goes uncovered, and seems distant

to our daily lives. In a society that is ortunate to have in-home

running water as standard, Stidia's story is hard to athom. Maybe

that's why the 5,000 children who die o illnesses related to unclean

water and poor sanitation every day, oten go unreported

and unnoticed.

In todays world, how can it be that almost 900 million people still

lack access to clean water and 2.5 billion people still have no decent

loo? Lack o water and sanitation should be yesterday's news, but the

o-the-radar scandal is still with us.

That's why Tearund is campaigning or extraordinary action on water

and sanitation rom our world leaders. As we raise our global church

voice, let's pray that stories o girls like Stidia remind our decision

makers o the need to Make life ow.

PLEASE PRAY:

ForChristiansintheUKfeelingcompassionatigue, that God would continue to reachinto our worlds and inspire us with storieso people like Stidia and the work the localchurch in Kigazi is doing to make lie ow.

Forwaterandsanitationtogettheglobalattention it deserves and or extraordinaryaction to be taken to stop the silent scandal.

ForTearfund'svisionforwaterandsanitation. By 2015, we plan to havetransormed the lives o three million peoplewith better access to water and sanitationthrough our work on the ground, and manytimes that through our campaigning.

To order your Make life ow church pack, lled with stories, lms

and prayer resources to make water and sanitation come alive in

your church, go to www.tearund.org/makelieow or call

0845 355 8355 today.

Unclean water and poor sanitation accountedor at least 1,200 times as many deaths as swineu this spring. But the silent killer has received araction o the attention.


4/7

DREAMON

You intended to harm me, but God intendedit or good to accomplish what is now beingdone, the saving o many lives. (Genesis 50:20)

Early in Josephs lie, his dreams only caused him trouble. They

made his brothers hate him, plot to kill him, sell him into slavery

and lie to their ather that hed been killed.

But the same git enabled him to speak out and save Egypt rom

amine. Joseph was the only person who, by Gods will, could

explain Pharaohs dreams. Seven at and seven lean cows meant

Egypt would be blessed with seven years o abundance ollowed

by seven years o amine.

Josephs interpretation transormed him overnight rom a prisoner

to a ruler o Egypt. Pharaohs willingness to listen, and Josephs

actions, saved a nation on the brink o amine.

Just as Egypt had seven years to prepare or the amine, climate

scientists predict that the world has seven years until emissions

must peak and start to decline. Ater 2016 global emissions must

be reduced signicantly each year to prevent global temperature

reaching catastrophic levels.

Today, Egypt is highly vulnerable to climate change. The majority

o people live in the Nile Delta where the land is most ertile, but

its vulnerable to sea-level rise. East Arica is also suering rom

reduced rainall. These climate changes could orce people rom

the land and lead to water and ood shortages.

World leaders cannot just dream about how they could solve

the problem. Developed countries must take action by reducing

emissions by 40 per cent by 2020. Failure to respond to this will

lead to climate chaos foods, droughts, sea-level rise, ailed

harvests hitting poor countries the hardest.

Like Joseph, we must listen to the warnings, pray and speak out,

calling or urgent action to control climate change.

PLEASE PRAY:

ThankingGodforhissovereigntyandprovision. Ask him to protect and provideor those aected by climate change,particularly those in Egypt and East Arica.

Reectingontheneedtotakeactiononclimate change in the next seven years.Pray or world leaders to put aside shortterm political concerns and commit toreduce emissions.

Forpeoplewhodreamandspeakoutforamore just world and or the global churchsrole in this. Give thanks or the 30,000people who now subscribe to GlobalAction or Act Fast.

Photo:MargaretChandler/Tearfund

3.PRAYER

GeoffCrawford/Tearfund


5/7


6/7

Q: What do Batman, Wonderwoman and the prophet Isaiah have

in common?

A: They all ght injustice wherever they encounter it.

Like many o the prophets in the Bible, Isaiahs lie is synonymous

with highlighting injustice and calling out or change. As part o

the global church, we take to heart the words in Isaiah Chapter

58, which call on us to do the same thing.

However, unlike superheroes, not many o us have a secret bat

cave to store our injustice-ghting tools, or a costume to run

around in, turning wrongs to rights. But we do know that God

calls us to love one another. Our challenge is how we live this

out in a world where the poorest o poor people those already

on the edge o survival are being pushed beyond limits by

climate change.

Sometimes, like the prophets, God oers us the opportunity

to stand up and challenge those in power to do what is right.

This December we have just such an opportunity.

On Saturday 5 December, thousands will gather in Londonor The Wave church service and march, urging the UK government

to seal a strong and air climate deal at UN talks that begin the

ollowing week.

We need to make the voices o poor people, those most vulnerable

to (and least responsible or) climate change heard. As modern-day

prophets we can take their voices and their needs and present

them to our government, in whose hands their uture lies.

Sound daunting? Dont worry. Tearund has put together a

series o climate justice evenings this autumn to equip you to

be a modern-day prophet. These events will also help you to

get your riends, amily and whole church involved. Together,

we can speak truth to power and protect our brothers and sisters

already struggling with droughts, foods and insecurity caused by

climate change.

Sign up or one o the climate justice evenings below:

Email [email protected] or phone 0845 355 8355.

Go to www.tearund.org/deal to nd out more.

Events are now planned or:

Sevenoaks:St Nicholas Church, Sevenoaks TN13 1JAWednesday 23 September7.45pm or 8pm

Guildford:St Saviour's Church, Guildord GU1 4QD Tuesday 6 October7.30pm or 8pm

Leeds:South Parade Baptist Church, Leeds LS6 3LFThursday 8 October7.45pm or 8pm

London:All Souls Church, Langham Place, London W1B 3DAThursday 19 November6.30pm or 7pm

Reading:The Church o St John and St Stephen, ReadingRG1 3JNThursday 22 October7.30pm or 8pm

Oxford:Details to be confrmedCheck out www.tearund.org/deal or moreinormation

2.

3.

MAKINGCLIMATE HISTORY

THE GREATPERSUASION

History is not always made by the amous or the eted. This

year, history will be made in an unassuming conerence centre in

Copenhagen by negotiating teams whose names and aces most

o us wouldn't recognise.

Guided by their countries' governments, they will decide (or not)

the next international climate deal. What they agree to will onlybe as strong as the commitments their governments are prepared

to make. And, worryingly, most rich governments aren't showing

much sign o ambition. They need to be pushed by the public

during these next ew months.

We dont know the exact date o the next election, but we do

know it must happen within the next eight months. Its likely to

be dominated by discussion about the economy. But imagine the

impact i every candidate standing in the general election was

visited on the same day by constituents campaigning passionately

against global poverty.

The Great Persuasion, on the weekend o 1718 October, aims

to remind politicians that the needs o people living in poverty

around the world should be a priority at the next election. Along

with other development and environmental groups, Tearund is

asking campaigners like you to arrange a meeting with the main

candidates standing in your constituency to tell them youre

concerned with climate change and world poverty. And then ask

them what they would do about it i elected.

What happens in Copenhagen doesnt stayin Copenhagen this December.

Beore the upcoming general election, MPs will bescrambling to hear what constituents want. Itsa great opportunity or the church to express itspassion or global justice.

ACTION

ACTION

Take action, complete and send the Act Fast card to your MP,

asking them to pass on your message to the Prime Minister to seal

a strong deal in Copenhagen two people infuenced or the price

o one stamp!

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the climate change talks at

www.tearund.org/deal

Micah Challenge is also encouraging churches to take part in

The Great Persuasion on 18 October as part o Micah Sunday.

It will be a great way to encourage churches to express their

passion or justice to their MPs.

Find out more about The Great Persuasion and Micah Sunday

by visiting www.tearund.org/election

CAPEDCRUSADER

Everything you wanted to know aboutbeing a modern-day prophet (but werearaid to ask)

1.ACTION


7/7yButcher/Tearfund

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We are Christians passionate about the local church bringing justice andtransorming lives overcoming global poverty. And so our ten-yearvision is to see 50 million people released rom material and spiritualpoverty through a worldwide network o 100,000 local churches.

I you dont have access to the internet an d would like to be sent theweb-based inormation mentioned in the magazine, please call us on0845 355 8355.

Also available: Sign up or Global Action email or choose to receiveAct Fast only. Visit www.tearund.org/actast or call 0845 355 8355.

Contributors: Tom Baker, Laura Hughes, Helen Heather, Alisha SanvicensPrint: Bishops PrintersCover photo: Clare Kendall

Copyright Tearund 2009. All rights reserved. Permission is granted or

the reproduction o text rom this publication or Tearund promotionaluse only. For all other uses, please contact us.

www.tearund.org100 Church Road, Teddington TW11 8QEChallenge House, 29 Canal Street, Glasgow G4 0ADTy^ Catherine, Capel Cildwrn, Llangeni, Ynys Mn LL77 7NNRose House, 2 Derryvolgie Avenue, Belast BT9 6FL

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www.tearund.ieTearund Ireland, Ulysses House, 22-24 Foley Street, Dublin [email protected] 01 497 5285Registered Charity No. CHY 8600

19362-(0809)

Bishop George Katweigye

from Tearfund partner

Diocese of Kigezi in

Uganda lobs a loo roll

while visiting the UK topromote the Make life

flow campaign.

Documents

2009 Global Action Magazine