Peter and his late wife Miranda founded A Rocha, a family of conservation organizations in over 20 countries working together to live out God's calling to care for creation, in 1983. The A Rocha story is told in Peter’s books, Under the Bright Wings and Kingfisher’s Fire. A Cambridge graduate and Anglican minister, Peter has served as Adjunct Faculty at Regent College, Vancouver and Au Sable Institute, Michigan. Since losing Miranda in a car accident during a work trip in South Africa in 2019 he has continued to support the growth of A Rocha around the world and to explore possibilities for innovative financing of conservation projects through investment and philanthropy.
I hope to begin a discussion about how we talk about… for now let’s call it ‘caring for creation’. ‘Stewardship’ isn’t a biblical word, and although ‘creation care’ is now generally accepted, like all terms, it has its limitations. Could we start a debate about how we can best describe our task and be intentional about our language?
It was extraordinary to be in Paris during the COP negotiations. So, now the dust has settled, the marquees are dismantled, and the circus has left town, what are we to make of the COP21 Agreement, and where do we go from here?
Two very different angles on one very huge problem. At COP21, the pressure’s on us. We have to save ourselves. We are the heroes and the villains, the culprits and the solution. Imagine what our world leaders must feel, with the weight of the globe on their shoulders. Can they hold the oceans back?
Climate change seems to polarize Christians. Why? Why do some believe it is a satanic plot whilst others see it as a crucial moral issue? Why do so many more simply ignore it as irrelevant to their faith and daily lives? In the end it’s about theology.
Last summer, events conspired to give me three totally different experiences: Week 1 at a Christian festival, part of Week 2 with my family at Disneyland Paris, and Week 3 at the Taizé Community in France. The question I found myself asking was, ‘What is the spirituality of this gathering? What are its “gods” – its underlying, unwritten values and assumptions about what really matters?’
Everything you see (and don’t see) is in relationship with something else. There is not a single thing in this world that is not linked to something else. Our whole world is permeated with ecosystems: thousands and thousands of them, interlinking and weaving in and out of each other. And I suddenly thought, ‘A-ha, of course!’
On 25 September 2015, 193 nations gathered at the UN in New York to launch 17 new Sustainable Development Goals. I want to suggest some pointers as Christian organizations and individuals engage with this important process.
When Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment was released, there was enormous media attention. Now the dust has settled, however, what can we make of the Papacy’s foray into environmental matters? And how does it fit with A Rocha’s focus on biblically-inspired, community-based, wildlife conservation projects?
The “reality” of the situation is grim. But, like a figure-ground image, what we first see isn’t all there is. Viewed with human eyes, the challenges facing the planet look insurmountable. The eyes of faith, however, see a different picture; they see more.
Those familiar with A Rocha know that Peter, Pavel and Dave—with their better halves Miranda, Radka and Anne; countless volunteers; and a handful of dedicated staff—also built A Rocha International, Czech and UK, respectively. What struck me that day in the blind was how they did it.
