A 200-strong flash mob from the Climate Choir Movement surprised visitors and churchgoers at St Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday 1st March by delivering a musical message highlighting the vital role that the Church must play in restoring nature:
The Climate Choir: in fine voice again
On Saturday, singers from the Climate Choir Movement, and members of grassroots campaign group Wild Card, joined forces to call on the Church Commissioners, the investment body of the Church of England, to commit to rewilding 30% of their 105,000 acre estate by 2030:
The UK is in the bottom 10% of nations globally for biodiversity and the Church Commissioners’ land is in a dire ecological state. Largely used for intensive farming, only 3% of the land is wooded, compared with the average of 10%, making it the lowest tree coverage of England’s top ten institutional landowners.
Holding aloft images of native British species, Climate Choir members from across the UK gathered inside the iconic London landmark to sing a rousing reworked version of All Things Bright and Beautiful:
Does not nature cry out, For understanding, For restoration, For all creation, For life!
The new lyrics challenge the Church to demonstrate greater consideration for wildlife.
Taking place ahead of the United Nations World Wildlife Day on 3 March, the Climate Choir shone a spotlight on the poor state of nature in Britain and the role its biggest landowners need to play in turning this around.
Landowners have a duty to protect nature
Wild Card’s campaign calling on the Church Commissioners to rewild their land has generated significant support in the last few months, with over 100,000 members of the public backing the call so far, and many senior church members and church groups calling for change. The rallying cry for action comes as approval ratings for the Church of England plummet, with just 25% of Britons having a favourable view of the establishment.
In October, Wild Card held an event outside St Paul’s Cathedral, in which TV presenter and conservationist Chris Packham unveiled a nine-metre long scroll containing a collection of powerful arguments detailing why the Church Commissioners should rewild some of their extensive landholdings.
Contributions to the 95 Wild Theses (a twist on the original 95 Theses by Martin Luther that kick started the Protestant reformation) were gathered from nearly 100 leading public figures, including former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, broadcaster, actor and writer Stephen Fry, former chair of the IPBES and IPCC Sir Robert T Watson, chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas. The Theses were delivered to the offices of the Church Commissioners and Lambeth Palace.
Speaking at the event, Wild Card Co-founder Hazel Draper said:
Hearing the voices of the Climate Choir ring out in support of nature, in one of the world’s most recognisable places of worship, sends a clear message to the Church Commissioners that they must fulfil their moral obligation to protect all creatures great and small.
The UK is signed up to the United Nations goal of restoring and protecting 30% of land and seas by 2030, but it cannot achieve this without action from the country’s largest landowners. This is where the Church can, and should, be showing leadership.
Climate Choir: the Church must act
Dave Mitchell, who sings with the choir and is a leading member of Christian Climate Action, said:
As Christians we are called by God to care for and nurture all of God’s beautiful creation, the wonderful diversity of life we long to see. The Bible is clear about humanity’s role, we are to work in harmony with nature. However the UK is amongst the most nature depleted areas in the world.
The Church of England is one of the top ten landowners in the UK, therefore we have a clear God-given responsibility to rewild the vast areas of church land, to help restore nature back to the amazing diversity it was intended for.
Emeritus Professor Rupert Read, a Quaker and spiritual teacher, who is co-editor of Deep Adaptation: Navigating the Realities of Climate Chaos, said:
The Church must offer moral and spiritual leadership, at this potentially dire moment for humanity and all Creation. Rewilding would be a great contribution, modelling, for all institutional landowners, what needs to be done.
I was delighted to take part in today’s peaceful and beautiful singing, to highlight the importance of this change.
Featured image and additional images via Andrea Domeniconi, and video via Jemma Ridley
