by the Rev Steve Proudlove, vicar at St John’s,Menston

I AM thrilled that in Menston, where I’m vicar, a new climate change prevention group has formed (Climate Action Menston). It is a privilege to be part of a passionate group determined to do their bit to prevent further global warming and to safeguard the environment we will pass on to those who come after.

As a Christian, I view the whole world as a gift which we take care of, not just for future generations, but because this our God-given responsibility: to tend this global garden.

The actions of this group in Menston can feel small and insignificant on a global scale, but as with so many things, our own faithful acts in our own small space, are important. They inspire others. They improve local well-being. They co-operate with all the other local projects happening around the world.

God watches our small, local actions, and even if we were the only group in the world, his oversight would make it worthwhile. Just as Christians everywhere live faithfully, often with only God watching.

God loves his creation, his gift to us, and he cares intensely how we treat it. Just like at Christmas when we give a precious gift, but don’t want it to be ruined. We often refer to Jesus as God’s ultimate gift to us – the gift of God himself come to save our world.

One of Jesus’s most famous sayings was “I am the way, the truth and the life.” God’s self-sacrifice shows us the way to perhaps set aside some of our own comfort and convenience for the benefit of others. It shows us the truth of our failure to look after this amazing gift of creation. But it also promises us life, when we follow Jesus’s example, change our ways and love our neighbours by caring for their living space, just as much as we care for ours.

I’m under no illusions, that often-selfish humanity will find climate change a real struggle. I pray for a God-given change in all of us that we love those who come after us, or who live in areas where the delicate balance which will be upset most by global warming. It is as we follow Jesus’s example of sacrificing our own needs for those of others that we will truly learn to be good tenants of God’s global garden.