Week 2: Use of Energy
Please sing or read the following hymn (StF 727)
1
God in His love for us lent us this planet,
Gave it a purpose in time and in space:
Small as a spark from the fire of creation,
Cradle of life and the home of our race.
2
Thanks be to God for its bounty and beauty,
Life that sustains us in body and mind:
Plenty for all, if we learn how to share it,
Riches undreamed of to fathom and find.
3
Long have our human wars ruined its harvest;
Long has earth bowed to the terror of force;
Long have we wasted what others have need of,
Poisoned the fountain of life at its source.
4
Earth is the Lord’s: it is ours to enjoy it,
Ours, as His stewards, to farm and defend.
From its pollution, misuse, and destruction,
Good Lord, deliver us, world without end!
Prayer
Our Creator,
Source of all power,
We want to align ourselves like iron filings to your magnet.
We want to be drawn to your intent;
To live in a society that responds to your beckoning,
To feel the surge of your life-giving energy.
We know that everything we love is a gift from you,
And that to know you as our Creator is to glimpse eternity
To think about
- How does this hymn picture the surge of God’s life-giving energy?
- What are the blockages to this energy?
- How does the hymn help us think about better ways of using God-given energy?
Energy in the news: have a look at these stories. What makes sense to you? What intrigues you? What surprises you? How do the stories make you feel?
New oil and gas fields
A court has ruled that consent for two new Scottish oil and gas fields was granted unlawfully and their owners must seek fresh approval from the UK government before production can begin.
The written judgement on the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields came after a case brought by environmental campaigners, Uplift and Greenpeace, at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
In his judgement, Lord Ericht said a more detailed assessment of the fields’ environmental impact was required, taking into account the effect on the climate of burning any fossil fuels extracted.
He said work on both fields could continue while the new information was gathered but no oil and gas could be extracted unless fresh approval was granted.
Church sees energy bill quadruple over new fridges
A Kent church says it is in thousands of pounds of debt after its electricity bills quadrupled following the installation of new fridges.
St George’s Church in Church Road, Ramsgate said its bills rose to nearly £2,000 a month after the new chillers were installed to support the Social Enterprise Kent supermarket based in the church hall.
Church warden Mark Ogden criticised energy supplier Scottish Power for not doing enough to solve the problem.
A Scottish Power spokesperson said it had taken “all reasonable steps to help”. They added the energy ombudsman had found the church was aware of the pricing changes, and it did not need to take further action.
The church, which also provides meals for homeless people every week, has launched a campaign to raise £10,000 to tackle its arrears.
Record year for wind power in 2024
Wind provided more electricity than ever last year as the UK moved further away from planet-warming fossil fuels to power the nation, new data shows.
Wind generated nearly 83 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity across Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland), up from nearly 79TWh in 2023, show figures from the National Energy System Operator (Neso), which coordinates electricity distribution.
Electricity generation from major fossil fuel power stations fell to just over a quarter of the total last year as other renewable sources, such as solar, also rose, along with electricity imports.
The government wants less than 5% of electricity to come from polluting fossil fuels by 2030.
Bible readings
Job 28:1 – 6, 12 – 15
28 ‘Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold to be refined.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Miners put an end to darkness,
and search out to the farthest bound
the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
4 They open shafts in a valley away from human habitation;
they are forgotten by travellers,
they sway suspended, remote from people.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread;
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of sapphires,
and its dust contains gold.
12 ‘But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Mortals do not know the way to it,
and it is not found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, “It is not in me”,
and the sea says, “It is not with me.”
15 It cannot be bought for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
To think about
- If a poet was trying to express these ideas in 2025, what images might they use?
- What do you think the poet means by ‘wisdom’?
- Where do you think wisdom can be found?
- What would the world be like if wisdom was valued more highly than gold?
Mark 4:35 – 41
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ 39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ 41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’
To think about
- Where is energy at work in this story?
- How does Jesus’ control of the elements shape our thinking about our use of energy?
- If Jesus said ‘Peace! Be still!’ to the out-of-control energies of our world, what would change?
Challenges for the week
Individual:
Only fill up the kettle to the amount of water required
Hang your clothes to dry instead of using the tumble dryer
Church:
Look into replacing existing appliances with energy efficient ones
Consider whether to ask the council to dim street lighting around the church
And finally… The Be-Attitudes
Blessed are those who use low-energy light bulbs,
For theirs is the light of God’s wisdom
Blessed are those who travel by train,
For their lives are on God’s track
Blessed are those who choose a car with low fuel consumption,
For they are in God’s fast lane.
Blessed are those who insulate their homes,
For theirs is the warmth of God’s love.
Blessed are you when you put yourself out
To use energy from renewable sources,
For you have kindled the flame of the future.
John Polhill, from Eggs and Ashes