Date: 14 October 2025
Place: Methodist Central Hall, Central Buildings, Oldham St, MANCHESTER, M1 1JQ
Time: 6pm-8pm
Free Event – Booking required

Doors will open at 6pm for refreshments and networking. The event will start promptly at 6.30pm, followed by Q&A.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ encyclical on care for our common home.

Highlighting the impact of environmental degradation on our common home and the poor and the vulnerable, the encyclical helped frame environmental action not only as a scientific and political issue but also a moral concern grounded in Christian theology. The document inspired many participants in the negotiations that led to the Paris Agreement. A decade after its publication, its impact is still growing.

Drawing on the experiences and leadership of Catholic, Anglican and Methodist churches, as well as insights from political and local contexts, this event will reflect on the progress and achievements of the past decade. It will celebrate the power of faith in action and consider how collaboration can sustain and amplify that impact while addressing the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Booking

This event is free to attend, but booking is required as space is limited.

Register Here

Special guest and Keynote Speaker

Andy Burnham
Mayor of Greater Manchester

Mayor Andy Burnham has been a vocal advocate for environmental sustainability, launching the city-region’s Five-Year Environment Plan in 2019 (and renewing it in 2025) which aims for carbon neutrality by 2038. Under his leadership, Greater Manchester has introduced initiatives such as the Bee Network, a fully integrated public transport system, and a Green Skills Hub to address the green skills gap. Mayor Burnham has also championed local nature recovery, establishing a Green Spaces Fund.

Speakers

Bishop John Arnold,
Lead Bishop for environment, Bishop of Salford

Bishop John Arnold serves the diocese of Salford. He has been instrumental in launching the ‘Guardians of Creation’ initiative, which aims to decarbonize church buildings and promote environmental stewardship across the UK. Bishop Arnold has also led the development of the Laudato Si’ Centre at Wardley Hall, dedicated to climate change education and action. He actively encourages Catholics to engage in environmental conversion and has called for urgent action to address the ecological crisis.

Rev Grace Thomas
Church of England

Canon Grace Thomas is the Diocesan Environment Officer for Manchester. She leads the Diocese’s Net Zero projects and serves as Minor Canon Missioner at Manchester Cathedral where she oversees environmental initiatives such as the Eco Cathedral mission. Grace is also a Programme Lead in Chaplaincy Studies at Luther King House and has authored works like Climate Action as Mission. Her ministry integrates pastoral care with climate justice, emphasizing faith-based responses to the ecological crisis.

Rev Ian Rutherford
City Centre Minister, Methodist Central Hall, Manchester

Rev Ian is Co-Chair of the national Methodist Eco Community Network. Ian represents Faith on the Greater Manchester Five Year Environment Plan Partnership and is part of the Planning Group of “Our Faith Our Planet”. He will speak on the impact of “Laudato Si” within the revision of “Hope in God`s Future”, the landmark 2009 Report by The Methodist Church, Baptist Union, and The United Reformed Church.

Chaired by:

Dr Emma Gardner
Head of Environment at the Diocese of Salford

Emma works closely with Bishop John Arnold to lead on transformational change in keeping with Pope Francis’s Laudato Si encyclical. She provides strategic leadership and direction to support the delivery of environmental programmes and activities across the Diocese, and manages the Laudato Si Centre, the Flagship Centre for the Diocese. She has a PhD in Environmental Sustainability from The University of Salford.

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