My smile is too big in this photo – it’s surely not a normal thing for an ordained minister to look so pleased as they are carted away by police officers. I watched my Buddhist friend Satya weep as she was arrested. I too have wept, and my family have wept. Not over arrest. Not for shame, or fear of the consequences of arrest, but for grief over what we have done to this earth.
There is no time left to waste. Put simply, that is why this normally law-abiding Methodist minister joined with other Extinction Rebellion activists on Lambeth Bridge. I climbed the barrier, sat down in the road, refused to move, and faced the consequences of the law. This is an issue of justice, and my faith in God compels me to act.
As a child I did school projects on ‘global warming’ as we then called it. The basic science has been known for decades, and the consequences we face are becoming ever clearer. If we continue on our current path we will face food insecurity, water shortage, mass migration, and the political and economic upheaval that comes with it.
I smiled as I was carried off because I felt a huge and unexpected sense of peace. I am a newcomer to XR, and to Christian Climate Action, and this was my first ‘action’. Over recent months I have been praying, thinking, reading up on the ethos of XR. Multiple times I have had a clear sense of God urging me to take part in this October Rebellion. I had heard of the impact of other clergy taking part in protest, and felt called to use the privilege of my position in the same way. I expected to feel anxious, afraid even, but instead I felt a sense of calm, even joy, knowing that I was where God called me to be.
“I have also been hugely impressed by the ethos of XR, with its emphatic non-violence, and its care for wellbeing of not only protestors, but also for police and members of the public”
I was particularly inspired by the idea of the Faith Bridge – different faith groups working together to create a protest where concern for climate justice is an expression of spiritual life. Groups of Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and others peacefully finding common ground and sharing a place of prayer.
I have also been hugely impressed by the ethos of XR, with its emphatic non-violence, and its care for wellbeing of not only protestors, but also for police and members of the public. Volunteers in white jackets bearing the words ‘non-violence and de-escalation’ appear as if by magic whenever an exchange gets a little heated, bringing wisdom and skills for calming the conversation. I only wish the Church could be more often like this!
Sadly the intended protest site on Lambeth Bridge was not held for long before the police took it back. I was arrested in the first throes of trying to occupy the site, so I missed that day on the bridge!
I was in custody for about 20 hours, much of that time alone in a police cell with a Bible. During those long hours I read through the whole of Luke’s gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, charting the beginnings of Christianity from just before the birth of Jesus, through his ministry, death and resurrection, and on into the life of the earliest Christian communities. The church has become such a part of the establishment that it is easy to forget its beginnings as a radical movement of people who were arrested, imprisoned, even executed, for civil disobedience.
Extinction Rebellion’s tactic of causing disruption is widely criticised. I understand that it is inconvenient, and for that I am sorry. But we are already experiencing the inconvenience of climate disruption. Even now, even here.
“It is going to get worse for everyone. If we act, we still have the possibility of holding back the worst effects.”
In 2015, Cumbria, where I currently serve, was hit by freak weather. Storm Desmond caused the collapse of several historic bridges that had weathered centuries of storms, necessitating diversions of 40 miles and more. Glenridding was completely cut off for two days as boulders carried by floodwaters smashed into buildings. The A591 between Keswick and Grasmere was closed not for two weeks, but five months, with a huge impact on the local economy. Bridges in Kendal are still weakened, and periodically cause disruption. In Pooley Bridge it took three months to install a temporary river crossing, and currently there is no vehicle bridge once more while construction of the permanent bridge is underway (due to open around Easter 2020). By comparison, XR disruption in Westminster has been small.
This is climate change. Not the worst effects – those are felt in countries with poorer infrastructure, weaker economies, harsher climates, less stable governments. It is going to get worse for everyone. If we act, we still have the possibility of holding back the worst effects. But we must act urgently – the current UK commitment to ‘net zero by 2050’ is too late.
Despite losing the Lambeth Bridge site, the Faith Bridge continued, relocating to a base at Trafalgar Square. After my release I was able to rejoin the group and continue to share in prayer and action. In the crowds around the square were many small groups of protestors, some locked together, some simply refusing to move, each group encircled by police.
“Until we are heard, and until governments take radical action, a growing number of unlikely rebels will continue to raise the alarm.”
Together we visited these different groups, people of all faiths and none, and offered our support in prayer, and singing hymns. Not one group turned down that offer, and there were profound moments when those we visited and those among our own number were moved to tears as we sang Amazing Grace. More often than not, as we sang the police would gently melt into the crowd.
Back home, as I reflect on the past week, I don’t really feel I’ve done anything particularly brave. I was acutely aware as I sat in that police cell that I am immensely privileged to be able to do this. I could be certain that neither I nor my family would face physical harm because of my arrest. I would be fed, warm enough, my family knew where I was, and within 24 hours I would be released. There are many places in the world where this simply is not the case.
Having said that, I am deeply troubled by the new ban imposed on all XR protests in London – the right to peaceful protest is one of the hallmarks of a democratic society. But I do not believe it will deter increasing numbers of people from finding their voice.
There is no time to waste. Petitions, letters, lobbying are simply not bringing change fast enough. Non-violent direct action is the only choice we have left. Until we are heard, and until governments take radical action, a growing number of unlikely rebels will continue to raise the alarm.
Revd Jo Rand is a Methodist minister serving in Cumbria
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