Karakia for our Climate
Stories and photos contributed by Elise Ranck, Olivia Yates and Jordan Redding from Karakia for our Climate.
“… loved having specific themes for prayer. It made praying for such a big wide-reaching issue feel more accessible. Also cool to pray prior to marching and feel spiritually prepared for that practical mahi.”
Karakia for our Climate (K4C) is a group of followers of Jesus, looking to empower the Church in supporting those who are lobbying for climate justice. They believe that the Church has the unique opportunity to intercede for the people of Aotearoa and invite others to join them in this. They organise events such as prayer vigils in support of and in response to upcoming strikes or other related events.
In April 2021, a day before the Schools Strike 4 Climate, K4C organised prayer vigils in Te Whanganui-a-tara Wellington, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Ōtepoti Dunedin, joining as partners in both prayer and action. They prayed about climate change: for courage, for hope, for creative solutions, for unity, for justice.
Te Whanganui-a-tara Wellington
“… it was great to have a space to pray for the protest and for the climate in general before protesting the next day. It helped me to keep Jesus at the centre of my protest actions and reminded me of the hope we have in him, when it is so easy to get caught up in the powerlessness we often feel in the face of the climate emergency.”
In Te Whanganui-a-tara Wellington, at St Peter’s on Willis Street, about 25 people gathered for the prayer vigil on the Thursday evening. There were periods of silence, acapella Taizé songs, liturgies, scripture reading, some reflection on scripture, and breaking out into prayer stations with prayer prompts and a prayer facilitator focused on four issues: leadership, collective action, communities at risk, and transformation of the heart. The prayer vigil finished with a call and response style reading of one of Pope Francis’ prayers and a couple more Taizé songs.
People then lingered after the prayer vigil to paint placards at the back of the church for the strike the next day.
On Friday, 9 April 2021, strike day, some folks gathered for breakfast, painted more placards, then walked together to the strike rally at Civic Square carrying their placards in their hands and the prayers in their hearts. Despite the rain, which sadly washed away the wording on most of the signs, they stuck together and marched the streets, joining thousands of others throughout Aotearoa, demanding climate justice and urgent action from the government.
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
In Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, K4C was a quieter affair. K4C partnered with ADJust, the Auckland Diocese youth justice group, to develop liturgical resources and build a ‘Protest Cross’. ADJust had been planning to create a new ‘Protest Cross’ to replace the fragile and historic ‘Melanesian Cross’, used in previous strikes such as the 1981 Springbok Tour. The new ‘Protest Cross’ was built from fallen tree branches to ensure that it was fully sustainable. Collectively, members of K4C, ADJust, and Ordinary Saints (Auckland Diocese young adults group) decorated the cross using pyrography (wood burning), before it was commissioned by Bishop Ross.
The following week, on Friday 9 April 2021, a small group of ADJust and K4C members gathered in Aotea Square for a simple liturgical service. Then, ‘carrying our cross’, we descended down Queen Street to join the rest of the strikers. Our rōpū was small, but our presence was significant. For example, one of us mentioned that “The Anglicans have just commissioned a new protest cross” to a member of Te Ara Whatū, an indigenous youth climate justice group. The person replied, “Wow, everything in that sentence is awesome!” At another point, Sarah West, the Auckland Diocese young adults’ chaplain, was carrying the Protest Cross, and sparked conversation with a woman who identified as a Wiccan. Sarah outlined her vision of the Gospel through a Liberation Theology lens, and the woman was very impressed and enthusiastic in her response. Such anecdotes demonstrate the power of the Christian witness within the climate movement.
Ōtepoti Dunedin
In Ōtepoti Dunedin, a group gathered the evening before the Climate Strike at Knox Church for karakia and fellowship. After a scripted liturgy in the chapel, we moved into a time of intercessory prayers with a number of different interactive stations. Some also painted signs for the march the following day. On the day of the march, we met again at Knox Church, picked up the signs and walked to the Dental School to join the march. The attendance was smaller than previous marches but still well attended and the parade was as vocal as ever. The University officially supported the march as well, with the Vice-Chancellor encouraging staff to attend if they would like.
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