We held the St Clements Parliament in your Parish event o the 18 May . We were joined by parishioners form St Michaels Ashtead.
We organised this meeting to talk to our local MP, Chris Grayling, about how Britain can play a leading role in making sure we plan to recover from the pandemic in a way which includes everyone and cares for our common home.
The timing of this meeting was significant as this week is Laudato Si week.
The pope has called Catholics and others to an "ecological conversion" based on heeding "the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor." As the coronavirus has surged around the globe, he has urged countries not to return to normal, but to regenerate a world that better conserves its natural resources and cares for the people and creatures living in it.
"Both the global catastrophes, Covid and climate change, prove that we do not have time to wait," Francis said in an Earth Day message. "Time urges us, and as COVID-19 demonstrated, we do have the tools to face the loss. We have the instruments. This is the moment to act. We are at the edge." At the end of the meeting our MP Chris Grayling agreed on behalf of everyone present to champion policies in parliament that ensure:
• Our homes are warmer and cheaper to run • Our transport is fit for the future, better for our health and environment • We are investing in energy that the British public want– that’s better for our climate (and our pockets). 89% of the public support solar and 79% support onshore wind • We restore our country's iconic natural landscape, planting more trees to improve air quality, and naturally suck carbon from the atmosphere. • Take measures that reduce the levels of poverty faced by 150 million people who are set to fall into extreme poverty as a result of the pandemic.