Creation and Stewardship A unit for post-16 General RE
Transcription
Creation and Stewardship A unit for post-16 General RE
www.cafod.org.uk Creation and Stewardship A unit for post-16 General RE Suitable for use with NOCN framework and Extended Project …with a particular emphasis on developing countries Section One Introduction – Creation: gift and responsibility Section Two Climate Change – causes, effects, responses and case studies Section Three Scripture, Catholic Social Teaching …and action! Section Four Evaluation and assignments Unit: Creation and Stewardship By the end of this unit you will: have considered your own views on creation and its stewardship be familiar with scripture and Catholic Social Teaching about stewardship of creation understand what leading scientists say are the causes of climate change, and have considered alternative views be able to give examples of how climate change affects people in developing countries have taken action to make a difference. Treat the earth well – it is not inherited from your parents, it is borrowed from your children. Kenyan proverb Section One Creation: gift and responsibility Look at this photo in silence for one minute. What thoughts does it bring to your mind? What does Creation mean to you? Here are some other people’s reactions. There are TOO It’s POLLUTION many of us for the that bothers me planet to sustain WE CREATION? look Our planet is AMAZING I’m worried about BIODIVERSITY Recycling and how our actions are wiping is the out species Not interested have to – I’m more of a person! – aftercity creation it’s our responsibility ANSWER! GM crops are the answer NUCLEAR power is the answer What does Creation mean to you? Scientists will come up with a It’s TOO BIG TO THINK ABOUT – what difference can I make? to climate change CLEVER SOLUTION What do NO POINT IN CUTTING CARBON EMISSIONS. Other countriesChina’s have growing a rightcarbon to industrial emissions will cancel out any good we do development; WE’VE NO RIGHT to tellinthem to stop We can’t force people the West to emitting carbon reduce their carbon footprint – IT’S THEIR CHOICE Climate change? CREATION is ours to use any way we want YOU think RUBBISH! This is just a temperature cycle What does Creation mean to you? What is ‘stewardship’? Take a moment to think. Write down your own definition. Genesis 1:28 says “ ” the conducting, supervising, or managing of “ something ; especially : the careful and …fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters of… all the living itcreatures that move on Earth. Compare with this dictionary definition: Some modern theologians say that the term ‘stewardship’, developed from this language, implies that it is acceptable to exploit the Earth for humanity’s benefit. responsible management of something entrusted to one's care What are your own views? ” What do you think stewardship of creation should include? Defining ‘stewardship’ Brainstorm one way that you believe creation is not being well stewarded. Think about both causes and effects. Use a Problem Tree to stimulate your thinking. Loss of work Illness Dirty air Pollution Write: • the issue on the trunk • immediate causes on shallow roots • deeper causes on deeper roots • effects on the branches. Poverty and hunger Chemicals emitted into air/ flow into rivers Unregulated industrialisation For example, if your concern were pollution, your tree might include labels like these… Problem Tree Undrinkable water Crop pesticides flowing into streams Heavy use of non-organic fertilisers Poverty / lack of education / irresponsibility Putting profit before people The Church calls us to put the needs of the poor first: “ The Gospel instructs us in the preferential respect due to the poor and the special situation they have in society: the more fortunate should renounce some of their rights so as to place their goods more generously at the service of others. Octogesima Adveniens (A Call to Action), Pope Paul VI, 1971 ” Look at your Problem Tree again. Have you considered how your chosen issue affects the poor? Are there roots or branches that could be added to your tree? Can you produce a Solution Tree for the same issue? Keep your Problem and Solution Trees. We will return to them later in this unit. Solution Tree • What Describe howown the experience picture makes you is your of the feel. awesome beauty and power of the • created What doworld? you imagine to be the story of this picture? Thank you, God, The picture the effects of for the gift ofshows creation drought Kenya, where villagers say and all itsinbeauty. that drought now occurs more often and more severely. Teach us how to be good stewards of creation, so that everyone can enjoy its benefits. Amen Pause for reflection Section Two Climate change – causes, effects, responses and case studies The scale of the threat [of dangerous “ climate change] to human life and to the natural resources and assets on which it depends, for everything from oxygen and clean water to healthy soils and flood defence, means that this simply must be our top priority. ” David Miliband MP Among all the concerns on stewardship of creation, should climate change be our top priority? Click the icon: An alternative view: http://youtu.be/YtevF4B4RtQ Some still deny that climate change is happening. Who might benefit, in the short-term, from promoting this view? Do you have personal experience of the impact of climate change? Do you think climate change has affected the UK? If so, how? Watch “Floods as torrential rain hits UK” at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18722054 How might the experiences of the people in the film have differed if they had been living in a developing country? It is not possible to say definitely that any one weather event is due to climate change. However, scientists agree that climate change will lead to more frequent and more intense weather events. So, how does climate change happen? Climate change in the UK? Heat from the sun shines onto the Earth. It passes through a blanket of gases in our atmosphere. Some of the heat energy is reflected back into space. Some of the heat energy gets absorbed by the blanket of ‘greenhouse’ gases. Human activities are creating more greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide, CO2. As we burn more fossil fuels, for example, the blanket of greenhouse gases becomes thicker. More greenhouse gases in the atmosphere mean that more heat energy is absorbed. This increase in the temperature of the earth, or ‘global warming’, is what causes climate change. Since the industrial revolution, levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have risen dramatically. This could lead to rapid temperature increases, to which many species, including humans, are unlikely to be able to adapt. Source: Robert A. Rohde Global Warming Art project http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carbon_Dioxide_400kyr.png Levels of CO2 in our atmosphere © Copyright 2006 SASI Group (University of Sheffield) and Mark Newman (University of Michigan). Territory size shows the proportion of total carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 that were directly from that territory. Which parts of the world emitted the least CO2 in 2000? How do you think the map may have changed since then? Visit: www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=295 to view a population map for comparison. Carbon-emitting world map “ “ “ “ “ The rains come at the Governments have this wrong timesinnow – like it rained in opportunity their hands… if they January for fourimportant days. It’s no usewho to can give incentives to the people It’s really for Weifbelieve that if at farmers the rains come are doing the right things for the people in England and Wales to Our ancestors had our forest times. is lost Many all lifehad is also lost. unexpected no seeds environment, then I think we can look after the they environment so it I right – when cut down a had never heard about climate left or were scared to plant them. begin to have create a world like the one that we fewer disasters here tree they had to ask the earth... change, but if it continues we could Farmers confused. Who knows that are we were given at the in Nicaragua. lose this forest. Sánchez, executive director, COMAL, Honduras howTrinidad many days these wrong-time beginning of creation. Maritza Manzanes, 22, leader of an emergency response brigade, Carbonal, Ke Kachok, 84, Kroeng group leader, Cambodia rains will last? Miguel Alonzo Nicaragua Macías, COMAL, Honduras ” ””” ” Charles Wangeneye, Director of Caring for Environment for Development (CED), Kitui, Kenya What can indigenous people and farmers in developing countries teach us about climate change and caring for the Earth? What do people in developing countries say? Focussing on just one region can give us a deeper insight into how climate change affects people in developing countries. CAFOD has been working with partners in Latin America since 1980. In recent years this work has been greatly affected by climate change. We will look at examples of this in El Salvador, Bolivia and Brazil. Find out more about CAFOD’s work EL SALVADOR BOLIVIA BRAZIL CAFOD in Latin America In El Salvador in 2010, torrential rains devastated crops, damaged roads and flooded houses. The corn and bean crops were particularly affected. Much of the seed rotted or was swept away. Some families replanted three times. Rosa Idalia’s house in Puentecitos was flooded and she lost most of her crops. Instead of the usual twenty sacks of corn, her family harvested four sacks. The tomato crop was completely ruined. changes in climate are “ These becoming more normal but, even so, we didn’t expect the rains to be so fierce. ” Rosa Idalia Rivera de Arévalo El Salvador CAFOD partner, JDS (Jesuit Development Service), helped the community in Puentecitos to set up seed banks and worked with them as they found ways to restock the empty silos after the floods. These seed banks are essential for planting next year’s crops. JDS also supports a chickenrearing programme. is talk of JDS buying an “ There egg incubator to help the community breed chickens. I am thinking of building another chicken coop... breeding chickens is my greatest hope. Rosa Idalia ” El Salvador Despite Bolivia’s rich resources of oil, gas, zinc and tin, in rural areas nearly three in five people still live in extreme poverty. About every five years, trade winds change and warm ocean waters move eastwards. This is called El Niño and upsets normal weather patterns (eg. causing floods in Bolivia’s lowlands and drought in the highland plains and valleys in 2007 and 2008.) El Niño may be made both more frequent and severe by global warming. Rural communities have noted changes in temperature since the 1970s and in rainfall over the last fifteen years. Bolivia Extremes of climate are more common, the growing season is shorter, and higher temperatures are leading to a change in some crops. The glaciers that provide water to the capital, La Paz, are predicted to disappear by 2045. Felipa Charque Chambi (72) lives in a rural community called Villa Arbolitos: I was a little girl, there “ When were a lot of natural springs here. This area was very green, and people used to bring their sheep, llamas and cattle from other villages to drink the water. But now drought is causing real problems and making things tense with our neighbouring community. ” Bolivia CAFOD partners work to ensure that the poorest and most excluded Bolivians, particularly the indigenous majority, have a say in the policies that affect them. CAFOD has helped indigenous farmers to set up the Bolivia Climate Change Platform to lobby on climate change at national and international level. United, those most affected by climate change have a stronger voice. Click the icon for the Declaration of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change. http://www.forestpeoples.org/topics/un-framework-convention-climate-change-unfccc/publication/2011/declaration-indigenous-peoples Bolivia CAFOD supports Hutukara Yanomami Association (HYA), an organisation of the Yanomami, indigenous people living a traditional way of life in the Amazon rainforest. The Yanomami lost 20 per cent of their population during the late 1980s and early 1990s when gold miners polluted the rivers with mercury and brought violence and illnesses against which the Yanomami had no immunity. In 1992 the Brazilian government finally agreed to protect the Yanomami land. HYA campaigns and lobbies to ensure that the Brazilian government keeps its promises. But now climate change is another threat. Brazil rain has changed. Now it rains “ The in the summer… The life of the Yanomami people is being affected - the destruction of the forest has increased a lot, there are lots of cracks in the earth. We Indians are saying look at the sky, it’s changing, the sun is changing, the rain is changing. The men in the cities, the industrialised world, we want them to listen to us and believe us for the future, see the pollution, destruction, poverty, illness. But they don’t see it. They let it happen. ” Davi Kopenawa, President, Hutukara Yanomami Association Click the icon. Davi talks about climate change and how it affects his people. http://youtu.be/QO_Fd4AbNbU Brazil Climate Change more frequent, more intense weather events: hurricanes, altered monsoons, etc landslides floods melting glaciers droughts melting ice caps rising river levels rising sea levels land losses homes and businesses destroyed water sources contaminated water shortages crops destroyed livestock die vulnerability, hunger, conflict, environmental refugees, poverty Is this outcome inevitable? Create a climate change mind map with positive outcomes. Effects of climate change in developing countries At the 1992 Earth Summit, 189 countries agreed to establish a Convention on Climate Change. Five years later the ‘Kyoto Protocol’ was signed, with legally binding emissions reduction targets for 37 developed countries from 2008 until 2012. Some countries, like the US, refused to sign. In Bali, 2007 a timeline was set for producing a new agreement for the years after 2012 (after the Kyoto Protocol ends). In Copenhagen in 2009 the US took part. However there was dispute between countries, and the resulting statement – the Copenhagen Accord – was not legally binding. It was “taken note of” rather than “adopted” by the countries present. Click the icon for CAFOD’s perspective on how the outcome of the most recent talks in Durban, 2011 will affect the world’s poor. http://www.cafod.org.uk/News/Campaigning-news/Durban-talks-end The next set of talks will be in Qatar, December 2012. Suggest reasons why some developed countries refused to sign. Should developed and developing countries have the same obligation to reduce CO2 emissions? Why/ why not? Who decides climate change rules? “ As part of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, CAFOD is campaigning for: China and others must reduce their Whilst emissions, we in the developed world must not abdicate our responsibility for the historic backlog of emissions UK in andthe world leaders to right tacklenow the root thenew problem by sitting atmosphere andof the damage agreeing global deal cut carbon emissions at the United wea continue totowreak on the climate. Nations Instead of muddying the waters with bucklong-term support and finance for poorer countries - not only passing, we should show leadership. to protect people from the impacts of climate change, but alsoPeople’s to help their in aare greener, more livescountries in poor develop countries already sustainable devastated by way. climate change and it’s getting worse. We need a climate change agreement with justice for the poorest people at its heart. Neil Thorns, Head of Advocacy at CAFOD What does CAFOD say? ” Review what you have studied about the causes of climate change and its effects on developing countries. If you were a delegate at the international talks on climate change, with a chance to address the assembly, what would you recommend in your speech? This is what some young people of the world wrote about climate change: http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/Two_Degrees_En.pdf Pause for reflection “The plight of the earth demonstrates that… materialism cannot be allowed to drive out responsibility and love… care for those in need, and respect for the rights of future generations...” The Call of Creation, Catholic Bishops of England & Wales, 2002 Section Three Scripture, Catholic Social Teaching, …and action! Look again at your Problem and Solution Trees from earlier in this unit. Note any questions that they raise for you with regard to religious faith. Keep these questions in mind as we explore scripture and Catholic Social Teaching. If you attended a Catholic school, you will have studied Creation and Stewardship in Key Stage 3. Here is a quick reminder of what you would have been taught: • Nothing exists that does not owe its existence to God. • The creation story in Genesis is a theological, not a scientific, truth. • Because God is infinitely good, creation reflects that goodness. • God created humankind in God’s own image and likeness. • Adam and Eve represent humankind, appointed as stewards of creation, but rejecting original holiness. • Yet God does not abandon creation, but loves and sustains it. • In love, God sent Jesus so that everyone might have life to the full. Revision Read these quotations from the Bible: took the man and settled “ God him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and take care of it. ” Genesis 2:15 Ever since God created the world [God’s] everlasting power and deity – however invisible – have been there for the mind to see in the things [God] has made. Romans 1:20 “ Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are? Matthew 6:20 ” …the land belongs to me; and you are only strangers and guests of mine. Leviticus 25:23 shall leave [the “ …you gleanings of your harvest] for the poor and for the alien. ” Leviticus 23:22 I establish my Covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; also with every living creature to be found with you. Genesis 9:9-10 How would you summarise in one sentence (it can be long!) the Bible’s teaching on creation and on its stewardship by human beings? What does scripture say? Justice for the poor is a major theme in scripture. This is one example: Speak, yourself, on behalf of the “ dumb, on behalf of all the unwanted; speak, yourself, pronounce a just verdict, uphold the rights of the poor, of the needy. ” Proverbs 31:8-9 How might the above quotation change your response to the previous slide? Jot down any amendments to your response: Click the icon for more scripture passages on this topic: Creation & Stewardship http://www.cafod.org.uk/content/download/602/5766/file/Prayer_climate-environment_scripture-extracts.pdf What does scripture say? over inanimate and “ …dominion other living beings granted by Read these quotations: “ [We must be] committed to the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concerns for the quality of life of [one’s] neighbour, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation. making joint decisions ‘…aimed at strengthening that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying.’ Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, 50 ” society cannot respond “ Today’s adequately to the duty ” Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2415 destined the earth and all “ God it contains for… all peoples so connected with the responsibility to protect the environment if it does not seriously review its lifestyle, its patterns of consumption and production. ” Archbishop Migliore, Speech to the U.N., 28 October 2008 Catholic Social Teaching that all created things would be shared fairly by all. ” Pope Paul VI, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 69 What would you say are the Church’s main concerns about the stewardship of creation? The Call of Creation is a document written by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales. It encouraged Catholics to voice their views on the environment ahead of the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. Click the icon to read it. http://www.cbcew.org.uk/document.doc?id=28 Read: Section II- The impact on the world’s poor Section IV- Human beings are dependent but responsible Section V- Personal responsibility and conversion of life What reason do the bishops cite in Section II for ‘People’s supply running short’? What is your own opinion? How is being created in the image of God both a gift and a challenge? (Section IV) If you were to fully live what the Bishops are saying in the paragraph from Section V, how would your life be different? Catholic Social Teaching Individual choices can seem insignificant when faced “ with such global challenges. But multiplied individual actions can indeed make a real difference. CAFOD is the UK representative of the global” Caritas The Call of Creation network, a federation of 170 international Catholic aid agencies. Click the icon see how Caritas on behalf of How can you put toCatholic Socialresponded Teaching into action? the Catholic Church to Hurricane Mitch in Latin America. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kySK55SN_Ek&feature=channel_page Click the icon to find out how to campaign with CAFOD http://www.cafod.org.uk/Campaign Decide on one action that you or your class will take. There are more ideas in the next section of this unit. Catholic Social Teaching in action Return to the questions you had at the start of this section. How do scripture and Catholic Social Teaching shed light on them? Research any questions that remain unanswered. Compare what the Catholic Church says about the stewardship of creation with what you have learned about international decisions on climate change. In what ways does international stewardship of the Earth conform to and differ from the ideals of the Bible and of Catholic Social Teaching? Plenary “ ““ At the end of the vast horizon, we perceived mountains whose indistinct Never willescaped I forgetus the contoursLife would have hadofnot their is not a simple product impression the sea madeby upon snowy summits made visible the sun Laws and the randomness of matter, me; I one couldn’t myto eyes off come to add moretake charm beautiful but within everything and the above, it, sincethrilled its majesty, the roaring lake,there which us so. When saw is a personal will, thereI is a all of its waves, everything spoke these beauties very profound Spirit who in Jesus has thoughts revealed came to my my soul. soul of God’s grandeur to life in I seemed to understand Himself as Love. and power. already the grandeur of God and the marvels Benedict XVI of heaven… St. I Pope shall remember what my Therese of Lisieux eyes have seen today. ” ” ” St. Therese of Lisieux Pause for reflection Section Four Evaluation and assignments Think about what has been covered in this unit What have I learned? Where have I felt challenged? What did I find exciting or interesting? What was difficult to understand? What would I like to find out more about? Can I say ‘I am a steward of the earth’ and mean it? Why/not? What is God saying to me about my role in stewardship of creation, now and in the future? Evaluation 1. Research the causes and effects of climate change, using the library, the internet, newspapers, and local experts. Prepare a ten-minute talk for your class or for a younger class. Your presentation should include: • introduction to the issue • where it occurs • who it affects and how • possible ways forward • at least two differing viewpoints on the issue • your own viewpoint (with reasons) • summary and conclusion. TIPS • Remember to use your own expertise too! (eg. If you are studying English Literature you could take a literary angle, if you are studying a Science you could research the scientific viewpoints, etc.) • Remember to include scripture and Catholic Social Teaching. Assignment ideas 2. Write a 1,000 word essay: Examine and assess the implications that Genesis 1:27 has for Christians in terms of their treatment of Creation. Hints! • Think about how God treats Creation. • Show that you have weighed up different sides of the argument. • Include relevant quotations from scripture and from Catholic Social Teaching. 3. Organise action in your school or college to tackle climate change: cafod.org.uk/Education/Secondary-schools/Climate-environment or catholicsocialteaching.org.uk 4. If your school or college is not yet an eco-school, write a plan of action to help work towards this award. Find out more at www.eco-schools.org.uk/ Assignment ideas 5. Tell others about what you have learned: make sure everyone else is as informed as you are about the effect of our decisions on people in poor communities. 6. Organise a performance of the ‘Degrees of Change’ play about climate change: cafod.org.uk/Media/Files/Resources/Youth/Degrees-of-Change 7. Fundraise for poor communities affected by climate change: cafod.org.uk/Fundraise/Guide-to-fundraising 8. Organise an exhibition of photographs, paintings or recycled artefacts, alongside relevant information, to raise awareness of how climate change affects developing countries. 9. Plan, design and set up a school allotment. 10. Use your artistic or IT skills to produce a piece of communication to promote action for climate change in your school. Assignment ideas Publications • Ellen Teague, Between the Flood and the Rainbow: Climate Change and the Church’s Social Teaching, Missionary Society of St. Columban, 2008 • Michael P.Hornsby-Smith, An Introduction to Catholic Social Thought, CUP, 2002 • CAFOD, The Call of Creation Toolkit, Photocards, liturgy, stories and reflections for adult workshops. From [email protected] Weblinks • Developing countries and climate change: cafod.org.uk/Campaign/Get-clued-up/Climate-and-environment • Becoming an eco-school: www.ecoschools.org.uk • Sixth-form enrichment day or peer leadership on climate change: cafod.org.uk/Media/Files/Resources/Secondary/resource-pages/ClimatePeer-Leadership-pack Other useful resources www.cafod.org.uk cafod.org.uk CAFOD is not responsible for the content of external websites CAFOD is a member of Caritas International Registered Charity No. 285776 Autumn 2009 Picture credits Annie Bungeroth, Richard Wainwright, Francesca Hoyle, Karen Luyckx, Marcella Haddad, Philippe Mougin, Maria Marshall, Luciano Padrão, sxc.hu.