From our Chaplains

In the Church calendar we enter into Passion Week/Palm Sunday and begin Holy Week, though in the Orthodox calendar it will be a bit later. We wish our Jewish families a happy Passover, and our Muslim families Ramadan Kareem. In the midst of our religious diversity we are unified by our prayerful intention as we think of Lismore and surrounding areas seeking to recover following the floods as well as the people of Ukraine and Russia, and surrounding countries embroiled in the struggle for peace. May God grant us peace in times of war and a blessed Easter for those of us celebrating.

I would like to share the thoughts of our Environment Prefect, Sophia Croudace, who accompanied a group of students and staff to the recent SS4C (Climate Action) in Kirribilli on 25 March. I had the privilege of attending with them.

“On 25 March, more than 3,000 people from across NSW gathered outside the Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s house at Kirribilli to protest climate inaction, in solidarity with the victims of the recent flooding crisis. Union members, politicians, students, and activists alike were united in their demand for the complete obsoletion of fossil fuels by 2040, accompanied by a just transition to renewable energy. For the first time, the 2022 IPCC report emphasised the importance of participatory decision-making, youth voice, Indigenous and local community knowledge, and gender considerations in creating effective climate responses. It stressed that social justice must lay the framework for equitable climate solutions. Despite the onus being placed on women, children and minorities to be the voice of our survival, our calls for the preservation of our planet are insubstantially addressed by those in power.

The Pymble students in attendance, including myself, cried out for our government to recognise the duty of care they have to the environment, to our futures, and our most vulnerable communities. The youth of Australia reject a policy of climate denialism which has been upheld in the face of horrific natural disasters, displacement and devastation. The ecological threats we are facing today are the result of years of ongoing hyper development, unsustainable land and ocean use, marginalisation, colonialism and governmental negligence. These human-induced problems can only be rectified with human solutions, and thus it is our prerogative, whether we have power or not, to fight for the future of our planet.” – Sophia Croudace, Environment Prefect.  

Have a safe and relaxing break.

Reverend Punam Bent

College Chaplain