Christians Go Green This Christmas in Wake of UN Conference

Believers across the globe are being more conscientious of saving energy this holiday season as negotiations continue in Copenhagen at the United Nations' conference on climate change.

Tens of thousands of people have taken up the challenge to "tread gently" in their energy usage issued by an online Advent calendar published by the Church of England.

Featuring video stories, challenges, prayers, and reflections from Anglican Church leaders, the website, entitled WhyWeAreWaiting.com, has already received over 30,000 viewings since launching 10 days ago.

"I'm delighted that so many people are logging on to hear the stories and take up the challenges to 'tread gently' this Advent," Bishop John Pritchard of Oxford said. "With Copenhagen upon us, it's hard to imagine a more timely moment to slow down and consider our care for God's creation."

"In common with many Christians, I am praying for our world leaders to be brave rather than cautious, prophetic rather than defensive," he continued. "In the meantime, we can all make a difference at a local level by our more thoughtful stewardship of the earth."

Meanwhile, a Roman Catholic group in Hong Kong is nearing the end of a five-month prayer campaign they initiated for the Copenhagen conference set to end on Dec. 31.

"We have mobilized over 4,000 Christians and people of goodwill to join this campaign," a Catholic priest, the Rev. Anthony Chang, told Ecumenical News International. " We are asking Christians to join the nine days of prayer from Dec. 8 to 16, to pray for the wisdom of the government officials who join the Copenhagen meeting, and for a satisfactory outcome of the meeting,"

"Christians should think about how to spend Christmas in a green way. Christmas is not about consumption," Chang continued. "We need prayers, and we also need to re-prioritize our life and to care for creation."

Having lobbied for a fair and binding agreement at Copenhagen for months, ecumenicals will consummate their efforts this coming Sunday with a special celebration that will include leaders of the COP15 as well as Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

Concluding the day's events will be an international bell ringing at 3 p.m., were churches in Denmark and around the world will ring their bells 350 times to symbolize the 350 parts per million that mark the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere according to many scientists.

"We hope for a world in which we have learned to live with the grain of things, to live patiently, to live respectfully, to live in a way that takes our environment seriously," Williams said in a statement.

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