Dear Friends,
Last Sunday’s bulletin included a knitting pattern! It was a new pattern for the Common Grace Climate Change Scarf, a scarf with a stripe representing the average global temperature for each year across the last 100 years.
The new pattern has come about because 2023 marked the hottest year on record. Global temperatures were broken by what has been described as a ‘blistering margin’. So, a new colour has been added – dark purple – to show the clear shift of temperature and (sadly) prepare for further purple gradients to be added as needed.
The idea for the Climate Change Scarf originates from Ellie Highwood who in 2017 was thinking about a gift for a colleague who was expecting a baby. “I thought it would be nice to make them something that was meaningful,” said Highwood, who was then a professor of climate physics at the University of Reading in England, “So, I thought, OK, well, what can I do with blankets?”
Her tweet about her design (right) went viral, and it inspired another colleague, climate scientist Ed Hawkins, to take it to the next level and create a data visualisation site, where you can choose a location and see a visualisation of the temperatures in that region over the past 100 years. Check it out – ShowYourStripes.info.
In September 2020, building on the Ed Hawkin’s image and using data provided by Australian scientist Dr Mick Pope, Common Grace put out a call for people to ‘Knit for Climate Action’! People around Australia responded – including several in our church!
These scarves were then delivered to federal politicians in June 2021 to tell the truth about climate change. We also wrapped the church in a scarf at that time – using sheets rather than rows of knitting – thanks to Cecelia Aull and Jillian Farrer’s sewing skills! (Below is a full timeline of events in the Common Grace Knit for Climate Action campaign.)
Would you like to be part of the Common Grace Knit for Climate Action campaign – with the purple colour now added?
You can knit a scarf for yourself or gift one to be used to call on leaders around the country to take the bold action needed to reduce the impacts of climate change. Download Common Grace’s updated Knit for Climate Action scarf pattern and Handbook here.
You are also invited to join the Kingston Knitters meeting tonight 7:30pm at the Manse (next date TBA in April) where copies of the scarf pattern and handbook will be available.
According to Common Grace, if knitting’s not your thing, that’s okay! You can support Knit for Climate Action by sharing it on social media and encouraging any knitters you know to participate. Or donate to help demand urgent climate action. For more information – https://www.commongrace.org.au/knit_for_climate_action
Grace and peace,
Belinda