Dr Jonny Hanson of Jubilee sent ECI this update on their work:
A three week evening course on Creation Care took place at Belfast Bible College in late 2018 delivered by Dr Jonny Hanson of Jubilee. Session one, an overview of the biblical foundations of creation care, and session two, on putting creation care into practice, were Jonny said: ‘We live in a wonderful world that God has entrusted to our care. Looking after it should therefore be an integral part of our Christian faith, not only for the sake of the human race but also for the millions of other species with which we share this planet’.
Week three of the course, on creation care and global poverty, was delivered by Hannah Elliott of Tearfund NI. Hannah said ‘Tackling global poverty and creation care go hand in hand. Those living in poverty are hit the hardest by changes in the climate. More floods, droughts and unreliable rains leave farmers with not enough food for their families. We can love our global neighbours by speaking up and adopting a lifestyle that helps us to live lightly in God’s world.’
Commenting on the importance of including environmental issues in theological education, Dr Paul Coulter of Belfast Bible College said, ‘Stewardship of creation reflecting God’s glory, righteousness and love, is foundational to what it means to be human beings created in God’s image and, therefore, an integral part of what it is to be restored into the likeness of Christ as Christian disciples. Caring for God’s world is not an optional add on for the radical few, but a core Christian responsibility’.
Jubilee has successfully raised the the £280,000 to buy their farm from more than 110 member-owners, including several churches and religious orders. They have recently held a volunteer day. Read a recent BBC NI news article here. Also an article in the Larne Times.
Our CARE – Care farming for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and the Environment – project began recently, with funding and referrals from various parts of the Irish church. The first four participants are from Ivory Coast, Iran and Syria, and three of them were farmers in their home countries.