Energising the Future: Listen again
Listen again
You can listen online, or download MP3 audio files of the talks given at the JRI day.
A student's reflections:
On Saturday 12 February 2011, Redcliffe was the venue for the annual John Ray Initiative Conference (JRI) on the environment. There were over eighty-five in attendance; numbers are increasing each year. Andy Kingston-Smith hosted the conference on behalf of the staff and students of Redcliffe and Rev. Margot Hodson chaired the event on behalf of JRI.
The morning session addressed the technical issues of coal, with presentations from Andy Brown, on the advantages of ‘clean coal’ for our energy needs, Ian Hore-Lacey on nuclear energy and John Twidell, on the ‘renewables’, wind and solar power. Most inspiring for me, however, as someone who is training for mission, was Brendan Bowles on his work with the A Rocha Charity and the project called ‘Climate Stewards’. Brendan talked from the heart of Eco-Theology of our hope for God’s strength and wisdom to put right our fractured relationship with Creation.
The highlight of the day (of course, I would say that) were the short talks prepared by the MA
students taking The greening of mission module at Redcliffe. Each focused on environmental issues in the Global South. Josie explained problems arising from coal mining in Zimbabwe that have caused toxicity illnesses where there is inadequate health care. She finished with Desmond Tutu’s filmed appeal for care of the environment. Rev Ubong Nkebem showed slides of the devastated Niger Delta, where lives and land are ruined by petroleum extraction. My presentation focused on the destructive effects of two recent droughts in the Amazon Basin. The impact was significant, and a number of listeners asked us to do presentations in their churches.
Clearly, Redcliffe is leading the field in engaging with the Environment as an essential aspect of Mission Studies.
Janet Parsons, MA student Global Issues in Contemporary Mission
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