Protesting HS2 with the Holy Spirit

As an older man with underlying health issues I have been in self-isolation. I have had plenty of time to pray and reflect, and responding to the TV news has been a helpful focus for that. As the weeks have passed, I have become increasingly disturbed by what is left out of the news, most especially developments in the still-proceeding climate and environmental catastrophe. For many years I have been active in exposing these developments to public, government and business, and in the last two years have worked for that within Christian Climate Action in association with the Extinction Rebellion movement.  

I have four grandchildren who remain my deepest motivation for this work. These processes towards catastrophe have already entered a series of ‘tipping points’ along a trajectory which is becoming unstoppable. The human population is now using 1.75 planets. The costs to our descendants are tragic beyond measure. Recognition of these costs is not yet impinging on the fetish of never-ending economic growth which is still being pursued as the highest good. 

In the last month I have been in touch with companions who are are protesting against the HS2 high-speed rail development which will cut through areas of 108 ancient forests and radically deplete the life they contain.  About a week ago I learned that XR was organising a walk of protest along the Birmingham to London link of HS2 to begin on 20th June. I was asked if I would be present to respond to some interviews and to join the walk for a short distance. My first response was fear of catching the virus and to say ‘no’. I prayed and immediately connected with my longing for our descendants to inherit a nurturing Earth. Fear went and hope arrived. A friend agreed to drive me from Bristol and we took whatever precautions we could to prevent catching or spreading the virus. 

I was blessed to be with people who are dedicated to civil disobedience which is peacefully expressed. We walked the first half-mile. No big deal in the context of so many citizens who live on the Coronavirus front-line, day in and day out but a welcome few steps out of fear and into life for me.

Back in self-isolation for the present, I give thanks to the Holy Spirit for that day. I notice that this gratitude merges with sadness about how little, in my experience, we Catholics have a communal sense of the Holy Spirit, one in which we are at ease in sharing Her presence in our lives. This is so different from what is described in the Acts of The Apostles. And different too from what I find within Christian Climate Action and within the ambience of Extinction Rebellion. May we be graced to re-find more this wonderful gift of communities in the Spirit to support us in going out into this hurting world and critically damaged Earth.

Phil Kingston is an activist with the climate groups Christian Climate Action and Extinction Rebellion. Before his retirement, he worked as a lecturer at Bristol University.