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COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh is over. Numerous reports have all pointed out that if we don't cut the emissions of greenhouse gases radically and immediately, we will not keep the global average temperature rise below 1.5 degrees. Therefore, the emissions must drastically decrease in the coming decades if we want to avoid severe consequences for our home, planet Earth.

Gathered at a time when wars and conflicts have emerged one after the other, socioeconomic situations in various countries have deteriorated, and greed for power and wealth has manifested, putting people's and the planet's welfare in danger. Hate, discrimination, injustice, exclusion, and various forms of dehumanization have plagued society and put lives at risk. Faced with difficult situations, the assembly appears as a new garden plot where seeds and plants of all kinds are cultivated, seeds of hope, dreams, and visions for a better world.

As we observed World Water Day on 22 March, the issue of availability of water, including the impact of climate change and how it affects quality access to water for many people across the world, came to the fore. 

Participating in the COP26 in Glasgow resembled a reunion of sorts. After the pandemic cancelled meetings of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Working Group on Climate Change and led to the rescheduling COP26, it was wonderful to catch up with my ecumenical friends who are devoted to the work of climate justice.

Wandering and homecoming is the stuff and substance of life.  Also the heart of the 23rd Psalm, beloved and old and yet ever new and beautifully enlivened in a surprising way: the the new neon installation by James Pfaff who wandered and returned.

COP26 is in full swing, and I manage to follow it from my desk at home, thanks to digital technology. This is one positive thing we learned from COVID-19: we don’t need to fly around the world anymore. That is…provided there is good internet connection, which is not always the case in all countries.

Human trafficking continues to remain one of the most grievous assaults on the fundamental rights and inherent dignity of people. The crime, also known as modern-day slavery, is dehumanising in the sense that it corrupts one’s identity as being made in the image of God, instead reducing one to a mere commodity or object.