“Do not be afraid,” is one of the most common commands in the Bible. God’s not saying there isn’t anything to be afraid of; it’s an invitation to move beyond fear into faith, hope and action. We are rightly fearful of climate change. It is the biggest threat we face; ignored, it will become our fate.

Governments might be tempted to think “TDI” – which, when I was in the oil industry, meant “too difficult, ignore”. Individuals or organisations might feel paralysed, too small and hopeless to make a difference. This fear is dispersed in the light of knowing that we may all feel overwhelmed by the challenge, but together a new way forward, one in which each of us is indispensable, is possible.

The only way forward is in partnership. Earlier this year, Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and I issued a joint statement for the first time ever between those holding these three offices, urging people to come together and “choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19) in obedience to God’s command – for the planet and for future generations.

In Rome, after agreement with scientists, leaders of faiths comprising about 70 per cent of the world’s population presented a declaration calling for bold action at COP26 to its president, Alok Sharma. Churches, businesses, communities, individuals, and governments all need to work together for our reconciliation with the creation given by God. Young people, women and people from indigenous and minority backgrounds need to be included and heard, especially in the most vulnerable parts of the world. In many places the threat is today, not in the future.

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"Do not be afraid” is one of the most common commands in the Bible.

The danger of climate change is great but taking decisive action now can offer a hope far greater. #COP26 https://t.co/HDEeBu4q6I

— Archbishop of Canterbury (@JustinWelby) November 5, 2021

Some Christians may think that the words “faith” and “wealth creation” are incompatible, but Matt Bird isn’t one of them. Last year the social entrepreneur called on Britain’s churches to start businesses and to encourage their parishioners to do the same. Now Bird, founder and chief executive of Nayba, the Christian charity, wants them to go a step further.

“A food parcel can sustain a person and their family for a few days, but a small business can sustain it indefinitely,” he said. “The Church often over-spiritualises and underplays practical answers to community needs. I believe that the ability to start a business is a God-given gift and that we should encourage the Church to do this as a way of serving the community.”

He wrote his column in The Times in January 2021 — headlined “It’s time for faith-driven entrepreneurs to emerge” — expecting to be “shot down in flames” for suggesting that the Church should get involved in profit-making. Instead, he has been inundated with inquiries from churches nationwide eager to help people to become entrepreneurs. He rapidly formulated his ideas into a book and a month later published The Spirit of Enterprise: Helping entrepreneurs transform neighbourhoods on Amazon.

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"Enterprise has a biblical footing based on the idea that wealth can foster wellbeing if it is used in the right way." On the "Spirit of Enterprise" course in churches https://t.co/eyYQBRTGHw

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) November 8, 2021

And, of course, we don’t need to look far. Jesus models for us a very different attitude to women. The way he treated women and responded to them was radically different to the prevailing culture of his day and deeply shocking to many who encountered him.

It is likely that many women travelled with him in the wider band of his disciples.

Martha and Mary were his friends and he was a welcome guest in their house.

When he was thirsty, he asked a Samaritan woman for a drink. We can’t realise how scandalous this was. Not only was he approaching a woman in a way that was unacceptable in his time, it was a Samaritan woman, whose religious beliefs were anathema to the Jews. In this way, Jesus crossed boundaries and broke, and challenged those cultural and religious traditions that not only excluded women, but also enabled them to be treated as property and dealt with in the same negligent and wilfully violent way.

Then, we have this beautiful story of Jesus honouring and receiving the kindness of the woman who anoints him, shaming the men who had welcomed him in by her profound care born. I suppose, of her thankfulness to him and her recognition of what she saw in him, nothing less than a different way of being human – a different way of being a man (see Mark 14. 3-9).

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I’m @HexhamAbbey to preach & preside at a service marking White Ribbon Sunday. We remember all who have lost their lives due to Domestic Violence & come together to stand & be counted amongst those who refuse to excuse, condone or remain silent about domestic abuse pic.twitter.com/gh39KWVG0I

— Stephen Cottrell (@CottrellStephen) November 7, 2021

The global economy’s comeback from last year’s deep contraction is approaching a delicate juncture, as policy makers and executives grapple with the bumpy transition from the post-pandemic reopening to a more normalized pace of growth.

Central banks in the U.S. and elsewhere are trying to chart a path that will curb inflation but not choke off growth as they navigate the process of weaning economies off the extraordinary measures—including rock-bottom interest rates and enormous bond-buying programs—deployed to support their economies.

The surge in U.S. consumer demand over the past year—turbocharged by trillions in stimulus—has ricocheted outward and caused disruptions to global supply chains that are now worsening and may stretch through 2022, say executives. The resulting higher prices and the struggle to secure raw materials and labor are piling the pressure on some companies and weighing on major economies such as Germany.

Meanwhile, China is in the midst of an ambitious effort to reform its economy, including reining in household and corporate debt, particularly in the country’s housing market, clamping down on the technology sector and pursuing ambitious climate goals—factors that could slow growth there and globally.

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As supply-chain disruptions worsen and inflation surges, executives and policy makers must navigate a delicate transition to a more normal economy https://t.co/hQKhTB9wc6

— Real Time Economics (@WSJecon) November 8, 2021

Not only are congregations growing older, so are their leaders. The average clergy member is 57 today compared to 50 in 2000, according to the FACT study. The seven year increase comes despite a small dip in the average age, 58 to 57 years old, in the past five years. Other studies have shown similar increases.

The Faith Communities Today report said, “the postponement of retirement by many clergy and fewer young adults enrolling in seminaries make this general trend unlikely to reverse anytime soon.”

The trends of graying pulpits and pews appears to be related. The older the pastor, the heavier the concentration of senior citizens in their church. Pastors under 45 lead congregations where 27% are 65 and older. Senior citizen pastors, on the other hand, have churches where older adults make up 40%.

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Pastors under 45 lead congregations where 27% are 65 and older. Senior citizen pastors, on the other hand, have churches where older adults make up 40%. https://t.co/jGdVSbfUgH

— Lifeway Research (@LifewayResearch) November 8, 2021

Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) act began to operate in 2016. It is a laboratory for how legalised euthanasia will operate in a largely English-speaking country. And, according to an article in the journal Palliative Care written by five Canadian specialists, it has had a very negative effect upon palliative care.

The authors interviewed 13 doctors and 10 nurses about their impressions. Some of the feedback is unexpected.

First, all of them spoke about an inherent conflict between the provision of palliative care (PC) and eligibility for MAiD. To ensure that their patients remained eligible, they had to withhold medications which would have otherwise removed or alleviated their pain. “Maintaining lucidity and eligibility for assisted death, by avoiding sedative medications, took priority over achieving good symptom control for some patients,” they write. Both the patients and the PC providers found this distressing.

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"13 #doctors and 10 #nurses… spoke about an inherent #conflict between the provision of #palliativecare (PC) and eligibility for #MAiD. To ensure that their #patients remained #eligible, they had to withhold [#pain] #medications" https://t.co/xd1X3UHJXU#nursing #medical #VAD

— BioEdge (@bioedge) November 8, 2021

Heavenly Father, who hast called us by thy grace to be a colony of heaven here on earth: Deepen within us, we beseech thee, a sense of our citizenship with the saints in glory; and grant that through all the days of our pilgrimage in this world we may humbly walk with thee in the way of holiness, and faithfully care for the needs of others, till we come to thy everlasting kingdom; through the mercy of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

There was fire in the sky today at sunrise. pic.twitter.com/fFq2177YzY

— Michelle Cowbourne (@Glastomichelle) November 8, 2021

Restore us, O God of hosts;
let thy face shine, that we may be saved!

–Psalm 80:7

Good morning from Guisborough woods 😊 pic.twitter.com/KEXe8FJnDE

— Nicky (@Nicky13Johnson) November 8, 2021