Norwich church climate activists cleared by court
Norwich Christian climate activists, Sue and Jim Green, along with Norfolk man Max Hassett, have been found not guilty of Wilful Obstruction of the Highway at Westminster Magistrates Court, after taking part in a climate protest with Just Stop Oil on October 29 last year, on Kensington High Street.
The judge found that the action they took, and the disruption caused, was proportionate in view of the climate crisis the world is facing.
During the trial, on March 13, Jim and Sue, who attend St Augustine’s church in Norwich, explained that their actions stemmed from their strong Christian convictions, and a long history, both biblically and in Christian tradition, of Gods people engaging in civil disobedience.
Sue said: “We are pleased that the judge decided we were not guilty, but the most important thing was that we got the chance to explain in court the gravity of the climate crisis, and that it was our Christian faith that motivated us to take the action we did.”
Jim said: “ The most moving thing was a chance meeting we had before the trial. We went into a cafe, and there was a church leadership group talking about their preaching. They mentioned Jesus and the storm, and how the safest place can be the eye of the storm. They talked about Moses and Gideon, quoting ‘be strong and courageous’. We introduced ourselves, and exchanged hugs and tears. The church leader said this was a God moment! We came out of the cafe so encouraged.”
At the moment, Sue and Jim are fully focussed, with Christian Climate Action Norfolk, on encouraging churches to engage in ‘The Big One’, a huge, non disruptive climate protest in London, April 21 - 24 , in which many Christian groups will be participating. There will be a talk about this at St Stephens Church on Sunday March 19, 2-3pm, more details from ccanorfolk@gmail.com, or the CCA website.
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Pictured above are Sue and Jim Green outside Westminster Magistrates Court.