IT’S not easy to keep a cool head and a positive outlook in a crisis.

Sometimes we think we’re tougher than we are, saying “we’ll be fine” and then something hits us out of the blue and we find that we are not as resilient as we thought and only then are we ready to seek help.

The world is currently in crisis. In 2019, the UK government was the first of many to declare a climate emergency. This was intended to spur us to action, but a side-effect can also be anxiety, especially when faced with the enormity of the challenge and the “too little, too late” response of nations so far.

It is at these times that humankind has often recognised its incapacity to solve its own problems and sought help and hope from elsewhere. This is perhaps why so many faith groups worldwide are engaged in climate action.

The 12-step method used by Alcoholics Anonymous members to overcome addictions, starts with an admission of powerlessness to solve the problem before then surrendering to a higher power or God. Only then do they seek to find a way of dealing with the problem with the help of this higher power.

In similar ways, many have sought the help of churches and other faith groups to guide their response and find hope in the face of the climate crisis. This season of Lent, a group from different churches in the St Austell area will be gathering at Bishop Bronescombe School (starting on February 26 at 6.30pm) to try to find a suitable response to climate change that is true to the science, informed by the Bible, stirs us to action and gives hope in the midst of the emergency. Those of all faiths or none are equally welcome.

CASA – Climate Action St Austell