Bell Rings for Climate Justice
On the eve of COP26 starting in Glasgow St Magnus’ Church Bell will ring out for Climate Justice.
To mark the start of Scottish Interfaith Week all places of worship are invited to ring a bell for climate justice at 6pm on Saturday 30th October for thirty minutes. St Magnus’ Scottish Episcopal Church in Lerwick is taking part in this event with the support of Shetland Inter Faith.
Bells are associated with the call to worship, weddings and very special national celebrations such as the millennium or the ending of the Second World War. Historically they had another function – to ring out warnings for bad events such as fires, floods and shipwrecks.
Our planet is giving us plenty of warnings, through extreme weather events, that we have profoundly affected the balance of the planet. While here in Shetland we may not be experiencing extreme weather events, many parts of the world, especially in the Global South, are already suffering severe effects of climate change. The UN Secretary General has signalled ‘Code Red for Humanity’ and COP26 is being hailed as the last chance for world leaders to agree meaningful action. Ringing the bell for thirty minutes symbolises support for action to redress the balance of our planet.
Rev’d Canon Neil Brice, Rector at St Magnus’, says:
“ I am pleased that our bell will join with others across the country to sound out and remind people that we can no longer just ignore the obvious signs of Climate change. This is a worldwide happening and people of all faiths are showing their unity and concern about this.”
Radina McKay from Shetland Inter Faith says:
“The focus of interfaith work this year has been our planet and its peoples. United in vision, the faith communities across Scotland issued the Glasgow Multi-Faith Declaration for COP26 calling upon world leaders to do their utmost to limit the effects of climate change. Shetland Inter Faith is happy to take part in this welcome initiative.”
The following day, Sunday 31st October at 10.45am, St Magnus is holding a Climate Sunday Service.