Getting the Church’s money out of fossil fuels
Matt works at JustMoney Movement, who have been supporting Bank Well - a Just Love project taking action on the climate crisis - with advice, resources, and experience from their work for a fairer, greener economy. He shares his excitement about the campaign, and offers a chance for you to get involved..
There has been a lot of scary news about climate change recently. I have felt overwhelmed, anxious and fearful about the direction all scientific indicators are heading, while the world’s political and business leaders ignore this and move in the opposite direction.
These emotions all have their place, and it is natural to feel powerless in the face of such a big challenge. We must allow ourselves to face the problem, lament, and grieve. But we cannot stay there. Jesus calls us to be people of a new way of hope, living in the resurrection light of peace and justice even in our world of pain.
The path from despair to hope isn’t just to believe that it will somehow turn out fine - it is to act. Christian faith is not just belief in Jesus and sitting tight and waiting while things fall apart around us; it is an invitation to partner with God in making all things new, through preaching the gospel, healing the hurting, and seeking the common good. We act because it is the right thing to do, not because it presently looks possible, but in the hope that as we act in prophetic faith, empowered by the Holy Spirit, that new world comes into being.
This is why I have loved being involved in Bank Well, a Just Love Project. Many of us have made personal lifestyle changes in response to climate change, but Bank Well offers a chance to prophetically use our collective power to make a systemic impact. Here’s why:
An essential step to prevent catastrophic climate change is to move away from burning fossil fuels to meet our energy needs.
An effective way to accelerate that change is to redirect the flow of finance from fossil fuel extraction into renewable alternatives.
We can encourage this shift by removing our custom from banks that fund oil and gas and supporting those funding green projects. We can do this as individuals, but we can also leverage the power of the institutions we belong to - like churches!
Churches overwhelmingly bank with the big 4 UK banks, which have collectively funded oil and gas projects by nearly half a trillion dollars since the 2016 Paris Agreement on climate change was signed. For churches, choosing a greener bank helps align their impact on the world with kingdom values, deepening discipleship and putting worship into practice. The Church has a long history of removing custom from those funding suffering and choosing to support more just alternatives, even if inconvenient or costly.
But our vision is bigger than just individual churches. We want to build a movement across the UK Church, expressing its holy discontent, so that the finance sector as a whole takes notice. And consequently, the big banks who offer more established services will clean up their portfolios, and the smaller, greener banks will develop better services for churches, and as a whole we shift the options that are available.
For over a year a brilliant and committed team of Bank Well volunteers have been learning and testing all they can to help you speak to your church about its banking arrangements. We particularly want to see 100 high-wealth, high-influence churches shift to greener banks, not only to move large amounts of money, but to use their position as network and denominational leaders to help our movement snowball.
Bank Well will publicly launch in May 2025, at which point you can sign up as a Local Rep on behalf of your church. Ahead of that, we’re looking for more people to join our Campaign Team for one last push to help us get ready. You don’t need any particular expertise or training, just willingness to give some time. Specifically, we need people to:
Join our comms team to promote the campaign
Plan and implement an impactful campaign launch
Contact our target churches and Just Love Network members who attend them
Prepare to be a Local Rep support caseworker
Build our database and resources to track and support Local Reps and their churches
Generalist volunteers are also very welcome!
Join our growing team working up and down the country to bring about a lasting shift in the banking practices of the UK church.
Please email matt.ceaser@justmoney.org.uk to express interest, or join us for an online onboarding meeting on 3rd March from 7:30-8:30pm.