PREACHER’S NOTE 14 AUGUST 2022
A quiet socially awkward little girl watches a film about
climate change at school. The other children are concerned
about what they see, but soon go back to their
toys and their play. She is horrified – she just cannot carry
on as before.
She is so affected by what she sees that she becomes
severely depressed. Her concerned parents try to coax
her out of it. But they start to hear her, and the whole
family puts in a concerted effort to do their bit for the
environment – they stop eating meat, they stop flying.
That positive effort makes her realise that it’s better to do
something than just be depressed.
She writes an article for a local newspaper. She tries to
get the other children at her school involved. She organizes
a protest outside the parliament buildings. Nobody
comes – she sits alone on the stairs with her sign – “School
Strike for Climate”. A journalist takes a picture of her, and
her parents share her story on social media. The next day
she is back – joined by a couple of others. For the next 21
days, more and more join her. Her choice of venue is inspired
– the national elections get a climate backdrop.
More news feeds cover the story. Her school strikes start
to spread, with children across the world standing up and
saying “Enough”. A year later, 1.6 million people from
over 2000 cities in 128 countries participate in a global
march. She makes a speech at a climate rally: a little girl
addressing thousands.
In 2019, she is asked to address the world’s leaders at the
UN. In her direct manner, she cuts through the lies and
the compromises of the gathered politicians. She calls
them out. “I shouldn’t be here – I should be at school. But
I need to because you have failed us”. The discomfort in
the room is palpable. The truth, spoken by a shy little girl,
is a spotlight.
If she can be so grabbed by something important, what
about you? The world needs truth spoken to power. What
truth has so seized you, that you just have to speak? Perhaps
just for a time as this, you have been given a word?
Blessings, Andrew.