The Croydon connection, Rowan's environmental initiatives and other fun...

Was great, today, to welcome a colleague from down in south London...

The Revd Dr Barry Goodwin wears many hats, and is a wonderful example to me of how to juggle the kind of job he and I do. Barry works in the Croydon Episcopal Area of the Diocese of Southwark (ie. south of the river in London and a bit of Surrey) as their Parish Development and Social Responsibility Officer, and acts in a wider capacity across the Diocese as DEO (Diocesan Environment Officer) and Rural Officer.

We were able to touch base about a number of things, but a good number of them concerned environmental matters and initiatives.

Barry convenes the group for the London Churches' Environmental Network, which is a useful discussion and action forum across the capital city, and should be seen as a resource beyond the metropolis, in my view. So, come on, Essex people, get plugged in to this network!...

Barry has also been involved in some of the lead-up to the relaunch this summer of the C of E's environmental initiative Shrinking the Footprint. This will be given a needed jolt of new publicity on June 11 at Lambeth Palace by ++Rowan - I hope to be there, and want our churches in south and east Essex to really get excited and committed about the idea of making our places of worship and our lives of discipleship in Jesus Christ places where God can speak powerfully of His goodness against the background of our present perilous relaitionship with His created order...

At the end of this year, vital discussions about our energy uses and carbon sequestration across the world will be the subject of international discussions at Copenhagen. Perhaps, we could consider in our parishes involving the whole community, and especially our children, in the ARK campaign of Operation Noah? I would be happy to assist any in the parishes - or our schools - with this initiative, which I think is a really great one!