‘What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?’ James 2:14
As part of a Gap Year scheme with Christian Aid I visit youth groups across the diocese to get young people thinking about this fundamental part of their faith, caring for the poor as the Bible tells us to. We cover a range of different issues from poverty to climate change, trade, conflict or HIV/AIDS. The young people get a chance to see that God wants it to be at the core of their faith.
I recently ran a session on climate change with a youth group in Reading. A starting point for such a session is to look at what the Bible has to say about looking after our planet and the most vulnerable people in the world. Passages on this subject are not hard to find, from Genesis onwards we see that God calls us to be guardians of His creation. It's vital for young people to get to grips with this issue. Then it's important to think about how we as individuals are responsible for the changes in our climate. I use video clips; the website 'YouTube' for example has some really useful, and often amusing, clips. We end by filling in campaign cards to send to the Prime Minister.
The amazing thing about the sessions is that I have found young people to have a real sense of what isn't fair. Getting them to decide how they want to pray, to raise money, awareness or the kinds of changes they want to make in their day to day lives is vital.
Ruth Bryant, is the Youth and Student Worker for Christian Aid working across the Oxford diocese. She is available to run sessions on lots of global issues including climate change from a biblical perspective. She would be more than happy to visit your church's youth or student group, so get in contact on 01865 246988 or rbryant@christian-aid.org.
