Hoping against hope - a summer course by A Rocha

Our partner A Rocha, an international Christian environmental organisation, is delivering a course on the care of Creation, to be held at their centre in the south of France in August.

The aim is to equip Christians with the tools they need to better connect ecological and theological issues.

This seminar will be delivered in English by the former director of A Rocha New Zealand, now a lecturer in theology.

More information : claire [dot] mouhot

arocha [dot] org

Calendar

29.08.2026	ECEN Assembly 2026
20.04.2026	How Can You Help Your Church Engage With Creation? Webinar
18.03.2026	Feast of Creation enters liturgical calendars: webinar and resources announced
22.09.2025	Ecotheology as an Academic Subject

A few words about the new ECEN Secretary

Claire Mesnards

My name is Claire des Mesnards. I have been working within the United Protestant Church of France as a pastor for 6 years. Before turning to theology, I worked with Civil Society Organisations in networks like the European Confederation of NGOs for sustainable development and international cooperation (CONCORD) and the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) of which I was coordinator for the European region during the Action2015 campaign on climate and the Sustainable Development Goals. These were the first places where, after studying philosophy and political science, I tried to voice together with others my genuine concern for people and the planet. For me this concern is deeply rooted in Christian faith and explains why I responded to a call to serve Jesus Christ as a pastor.

Currently, I live in Nîmes, a small and beautiful Roman city known as one of the Reformation’s cradles in France. I am working full time for the local protestant parish. Together with a number of friends I have been closely involved in founding a Peoples University on Religions. The purpose of this specific project is to provide an open and neutral space where the diversity of beliefs can be approached in-depth by a wide audience. In the French context where religious questions are often relegated to the private sphere as a result of the 1905 separation of religion and the state, there is a desperate need to overcome ignorance and the resulting tensions that it can trigger between citizens.

Beside this and the usual activities related to pastoral care, I share my day-to-day life with Paul Kleiber, an Earth-lover who has over the years helped raise my awareness about the state of our planet. We are getting married on April 26! We will then move to the countryside in the North of France where we hope to get involved in permaculture – a dream Paul has had for a long time and which I now share. This new move brings together my initial background in biology and my long-standing interest in health and the environment. We would be grateful for your prayers and support as a new chapter of our lives opens. We strive for balanced relationships with God’s Creation and are eager to learn from every encounter.

Looking forward to meeting you and welcoming you!

You may contact me at ecenecen [dot] org and/or by phone at +33 6 27 75 56 37.

Keywords

ECEN on Facebook

European Christian Environmental Network

ECEN Assembly

European Christian Environmental Network announces its next Assembly, which will take place under the title: ‘Reconciled with creation: a call for urgent action on climate and biodiversity’ from 29 August – 2 September 2020 in Evangelical Academy Bad Herrenalb ( Germany).

Every part of creation matters – invitation to the discussion

Caring for God’s creation is an integral part of the calling of churches. How can this be done? The publication Every Part of Creation Matters produced by the Conference of European Churches serves both as an invitation to dialogue within and amongst the churches, as well as an effort to identify questions for further dialogue with politics. This discussion paper has been prepared as an opportunity both to share thoughts and to stimulate further discussion.
Every Part of Creation Matters (2022) is freely available for download in electronic form and as a printed version from Amazon. Every Part of Creation Matters is a consultation document. The paper is commended for further reflection. We invite churches, interested groups, and individuals to react to the paper and share experiences and comments from different parts of the continent.
Reactions are welcomed at: Ecenecen [dot] org