Today I stand in public solidarity with the action on the William Jolly Bridge bridge by Extinction Rebellion. Solidarity greetings to Extinction Rebellion Geelong my birth city on #Wathaurong Country.

I also want to declare my public support for this week of activism and awareness raising by a new generation. I share my solidarity as a person of faith whose religious commitment includes the commandment to live with integral ecology in our common home which we share with diverse life forms and species.

Along with political activism I add my spiritual activism of prayer for my conversion and change of heart to simply with less stuff and choices that minimize my ecological footprint. As a Catholic I join with my sisters and brothers who celebrate October as the month of the Holy Rosary. The beads with which I pray are a set I brought back from Alice Springs one year decorated in the traditional Aboriginal colours.

In the last 24 hours I have been involved two conversations that highlight the frightening division in our community. On his FB page one of my brothers has posted a message supporting violence against XR protesters suggesting that the speed bump response is “harsh but fair”. This is a suggestion I find disturbing and offensive in the extreme. To read it from one of my own family is gut wrenching.

While I was taking this in I received a message from a young mate who wanted to know if I would be joining him at the XR action this morning. Of these two conversations the call from a young man to join the passion for change far outweighs the relationship to a curmudgeon.

Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) OZ Rosary # 53 The Global Catholic Climate Movement Extinction Rebellion – Grey Power