From the Minister
September 2026
Dear Friends,
As I write we are nearing the end of a summer that has seen incredibly hot, dry weather. Most of southern England and all of Wales have declared drought conditions and there are national warnings regarding wildfires. We have just seen the first period of rain for about six weeks and I was struck by the unusual response to this. The British are usually renowned for complaining about rain, but my neighbour this morning was wearing a broad smile and remarked that he was so delighted to see rain that he had gone straight outside to enjoy it!
This extreme weather has brought to the forefront debates about our response to climate change and raised the question of whether this summer heralds the new normal for years to come. Certainly, heatwaves seem to have become increasingly regular over the last few years. As we reflect on what the future might hold, and on how we might practically respond to limit human impact on the natural world, Sudbury Climate Voices will be screening the ‘National Emergency Briefing’ – a briefing given by experts on the climate and nature crisis to national decision makers in November 2025 – on Wednesday 23rd September at 7pm at Sudbury Arts Centre in St Peter’s Church. This screening is a good way to be informed about the key issues and to come together to discuss how we as a local community might respond. It is being supported by a wide range of local groups including Churches Together.
Why might we as Christians feel that this is an important issue to engage in? We believe that the world and all that is in it is God’s creation and that God is intimately involved in its care, to the extent that God participated in the created order in the person of Jesus. There are also countless examples of care for creation shown throughout scripture, Jesus himself uses illustrations from the natural world and Romans 8 speaks of the salvation, not just of humans, but of the cosmos, the entire created universe! It therefore follows that we should wish to care for that which God has made and loves.
The Church has designated the period from 1st September to 4th October as Creation Season, a time to celebrate the created world and reflect upon our place in it. Let’s use this season to inform ourselves and reflect and pray about how we can live faithfully and show our care for creation.
God bless.
Ruth.