CCA members Val King and Barbara Wilson share their experience of participating in February’s No Faith in Fossil Fuels Lent Vigil.

Val says:

It all started on Ash Wednesday. The No Faith in Fossil Fuels Lent Vigil lasted ten days and ten nights outside the Houses of Parliament, Westminster. Initiated by Christian Climate Action, several hundred Christians from across the country gathered together holding vigil in all weathers. Christian Aid, the Salvation Army and CAFOD were amongst the 11 Christian NGOs and charities who took part.

Why? Around the world creation is crying out. Heatwaves, fires, droughts and floods are becoming more frequent, wrecking lives, land, and livelihoods. Meanwhile, the biggest polluters who have caused this crisis make vast profits from fossil fuels. As creation groans, the poorest, who have done the least to cause the problem, are paying the price.

As we prayed we called on the UK Government to:

• make the UK’s biggest polluters pay for climate action.  
• deliver and build on the UK’s international climate finance pledges and pay into the UN’s Loss and Damage Fund.  
• ban new UK-based fossil fuel projects.   

I joined the vigil on the night of the final Thursday, starting at 8.30pm taking my position in a camp chair wrapping myself up in a blanket and sleeping bag. I joined four other CCA folk- Ben, Claire, Helen, Cathy – staying overnight till 7.00 am. The night passed by in a mixture of prayers, laughter, singing and speaking with passersby, including Alex Chalk, Tory MP for Cheltenham and Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He didn’t stop long and spent most of the time extolling the virtues of his British-made bike.

The most memorable encounter was with three young women of colour who were genuinely curious about what we were doing and were impressed that Christians were taking a stand on the climate emergency. They voiced deep concern at the political status quo and when one of them said, ‘I could do a better job’, we encouraged her to go into politics!

During the Friday I dropped by and saw hundreds of staff, MPs, service folk going in out of those formidable black gates. What were they thinking as they saw us bearing witness to the climate emergency? 

On the final Saturday I returned to the vigil at 6.30am and as the morning went on, more and more people arrived. The whole atmosphere changed – the place was buzzing with participants and tourists – so many people stopping and asking us questions – and we were joined in prayer by a man from Norway called Lars.

By 1.00pm we were about 50 people and said prayers and sang hymns and read parts of Pope Francis’ Laudato Deum. The bigger the crowd, the more tourists stopped for a moment to look. By 2.00pm there were 70 of us standing opposite 10 Downing Street. The overwhelming feeling was one of solidarity- we sang, we prayed we shared the experiences we had had of the vigil and tied a purple ribbon round a fellow-vigiler’s wrist. We then tied a second ribbon round branches of trees – both ribbons a memorial to our prayers and vigil.

When we sang the final hymn, I felt a surge of optimism for the possibility of true communion with our fellow humans. If enough of us join together, humanity and nature, in spite of the terrible pain and suffering being felt, can truly be renewed.

Barbara shares a haiku and her reflections on the vigil:

Light and dark grey clouds
Covering the sky above us
Fossil fuels must go

Seven sitting still
Praying for the planet
Fossil fuels must go

Big Ben chimes above
Bikes and cars rush past below
Fossil fuels must go

When else do you have an opportunity to spend eight hours sitting peacefully and uninterrupted in prayer? I did this for two consecutive nights of the Lent Vigil for Climate Justice. I regularly join a Vigil for the Earth outside Parliament every Wednesday. It’s powerful to pray publicly in a place of national significance. The Lent vigil is similar but led me to much deeper prayer.

The first night the weather was fairly mild. Five of us were there all night joined for a couple of hours by two others.  Soon after we arrived a group of mainly young men emerged from the Houses of Parliament evidently after a dinner. Several were intrigued by us. They claimed to be very aware of climate issues and keen to work towards solutions. Though these solutions included nuclear power and possibly sending rubbish into space – because there aren’t any human beings there so it doesn’t really matter. Others were more thoughtful, studying geology but wanting to mine lithium, which is of benefit to humanity, rather than fossil fuels. We discovered most were from Cambridge University Student Conservative society. Possibly future MPs?

What is a vigil for? A public act of witness?  A Sacramental sign? An opportunity to pray about the issues facing humanity and the planet? A call to our politicians to reconsider their responsibilities and take more urgent action? All of these but maybe the long night does draw one into deep prayer which can bear fruit more widely, both personally and by talking about what we’re doing and why. Not just to a group of undergraduate passers by but to our friends and neighbours and family. On that first night I was also inspired by three statues across the square – giants of non violent protest: Mandela, Ghandi and Millicent Fawcett. All three had great gifts which can inspire us in the climate activism advocated by Christian Climate Action.

The second night was very different. It rained non stop, though generally not very heavily. So no one stopped to talk to us. Our only brief greeting was from the heavily armed security police on their regular rounds. Three of us sat under umbrellas, wearing waterproof trousers and ponchos but still finishing up pretty wet. We decided to read a favourite scripture passage as Big Ben struck each hour. By a God incidence the first passage was Isaiah 58 – this is the fast which pleases me –  which was the text used by pastor Munther Isaac from Israel when he spoke about Palestine the next afternoon, to a packed audience in Bloomsbury Baptist Church. We also read Jeremiah about the potter and John’s prologue. ‘Full of grace and truth’ – as our night prayer felt.

Big Ben chimes above
Bikes and cars rush past below
Fossil fuels must go

On the first, busier, night I wrote a couple of haiku. The second night was much more meditative. I’ve confirmed I can cope in uncomfortable situations though nothing compared to those in Gaza or Calais or those who are homeless here in Britain. But for a few hours I was in solidarity with them as well as a witness to the need to stop extracting fossil fuels if we are to survive. I am blessed to have been given that opportunity.