Getting Vaccinated and Climate Change

Monday, August 16, 2021

Written by Alan Vink

Categories: Gospel and Culture

Comments: 0

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Good Morning and Welcome to this week’s Gospel and Culture update, by Alan Vink
Getting Vaccinated and Climate Change

Monday 16th August 2021

Getting Vaccinated

POV. I have had my first jab. My wife, Jeanette has had both. I trust the Public Health system. I have no reason not to. They have protected me and my loved ones from preventable illnesses and they patched me up a few times when my body was a bit broken and sick. I also trust the scientists and their teams that have worked so hard all around the world to bring us the Covid-19 vaccine. Then I noted that the Medical Council of NZ issued this statement to all Doctors and Dentists in NZ on the 28th April 2021. “Dentists and doctors are expected to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as outlined in the guidance, jointly released by the Dental Council and the Medical Council of New Zealand today”. And BTW there are approximately 17,000 Doctors (GP’s and specialists), 60,000 Nurses and 3500 Dentists currently practising in NZ.

So I am left wondering. What can Pastors do to assist the vaccine roll out and what can churches do? Quite a bit as it turns out. Maybe the question for us is not what can we do but what should we do? Here are a few thoughts.

  • Why not mention that you have been vaccinated. Your sermon illustration next week might be, “while I was on my way to the Vaccination Centre to get my jab……………..I truly don’t believe that comes anywhere close to ‘virtue signalling’ that some of our tribe are worried about. Rather, in the space of just 30 seconds and perhaps 20 words you have said so much.
  • Host a discussion evening with a couple of local doctors sharing their insights and knowledge and answering questions as I know quite a few churches have done in Dunedin for example.
  • Write an ‘opinion piece’ for your church newsletter and/or make a public statement, very carefully worded and no guilt tripping. Acknowledge that this is a ‘tricky’ area.
  • Mention that you have been vaccinated on your personal Facebook page.
  • Invite the folks who are ‘vaccine hesitant’ to come and have a chat. Promise them no pressure, no arm twisting and no guilt trips. Just a safe place to process their concerns and worries together.
  • Become a Vaccination Centre.

I would like to ask if the National Church Leaders group and Denominational HQ’s and NZCN would consider issuing a public statement in support of vaccinations. Why not consider paying for a full page in the country’s main daily papers?

And all this for the sake of our Public Health and loving our neighbour.

And finally for now and for your thoughts. How would you react to the proposition if the Government mandated vaccinations for all New Zealanders? Though I think mandating is very unlikely what is being discussed in many countries is the requirement for a ‘vaccine passport’ and the rules that will accompany that passport. In other words ‘get vaccinated or we will make your life very restrictive’. What is your response to that idea?

Climate Change

As we all know now the 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was made public last week. It makes for very sobering reading.

From their website: “The IPCC was created to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options”. It’s interesting to note that 195 countries (out of the 197 countries the UN recognises)) around the world are members of IPCC.

POV. I am a (human-made) climate change believer. I haven’t always been but I am now…..you bet I am. I am still reading and processing this report but my goodness this is a worry. It sends cold shivers down my spine especially when I begin learning about some of the irreversible factors that are now underway. Needless to say I am worried about the world my grandchildren are growing up in. I care about this issue deeply. Having grown up in a largely ‘clean and green environment’ where sea levels were pretty much a constant and 100 year floods were…..well every 100 years (and not every few years as we now are dealing with). I take my stewardship responsibility of God’s creation very seriously. As a result I am confronted with my own lifestyle and purchase decisions like never before. It’s quite uncomfortable to be honest.

I’m grateful that just yesterday a Sunday Star Times Writer, Brianne West, wrote a piece titled, ‘Better than worrying, find out how to save the planet’ and introduced me to Project Drawdown. From their website:- "The World’s Leading Resource for Climate Solutions. Our mission is to help the world reach “Drawdown”— the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline, thereby stopping catastrophic climate change — as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible”.

Project Drawdown is full of hope.

Alan Vink is currently the Executive Director for LeadershipWorx. Prior to this role he has been the Executive Director of Willow Creek Association NZ (WillowNZ), a Baptist pastor (23 years), Bible College teacher, and church consultant.

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