ST ALBANS CATHEDRAL called in the police on Sunday to deal with protestors from Christian Climate Action, who were holding a prayer vigil urging the cathedral to cease its banking arrangements with Barclays Bank.
The cathedral was celebrating Alban Day, an annual festival for its patron saint, with a colourful procession through the city. Members of Christian Climate Action were grouped outside the west front, holding a banner that called for the cathedral to pursue a more ethical banking policy. Barclays has extensive ties to the fossil-fuels industry in Europe.
The police departed the scene soon after determining that no criminal act was taking place. Security staff at the cathedral attempted to block the group’s banner with their bodies for a while.
Nigel Harvey, from St Albans, was one of the protestors. “This was an obvious over-reaction by St Albans Cathedral,” he said. “We all know that the climate crisis is a huge threat to humanity. And yet, instead of welcoming and encouraging input on changes that can be made, the cathedral sought to shut down our small, respectful protest. The Christian response would be to engage, consider, and act. The best way the cathedral can now make amends is to urgently review their banking arrangements.”
A report published last week, Banking on Climate Chaos, which tracks bank funding of coal, oil, and gas projects, shows that Barclays increased its fossil-fuel financing from 2023 to 2024. Research for the study, led by the Rainforest Action Network, found the bank to have funnelled $98.9 billion into fossil fuels between 2021 and 2024. Over the last two years, organisations including the Greenbelt Festival, Christian Aid, and Oxfam, and Chelmsford, Derby, Durham, Sheffield, Southwark, Truro, and Worcester cathedrals, have all agreed to cut ties with banks that fund fossil fuels (News, 9 May).
St Albans Cathedral is currently reviewing its policies and procedures to ensure that it aligns with their “values”, a spokesperson said.
“St Albans Cathedral takes climate change and environmental stewardship seriously, as part of our Christian calling to care for God’s creation. We recognise the urgency of the climate crisis and have already taken meaningful steps to reduce our environmental impact, including creating a new post for a Sustainability Project Manager to support our work towards the Church of England’s ambition to reach net zero by 2030. We have also recently applied for the A Rocha Gold Eco Church Award.”
The vigil comes four days after other members of Christian Climate Action unfurled a banner during a meeting of the Church Commissioners being held in Bristol Cathedral. They were urging both the Commissioners, which bank with Lloyds, and the Cathedral, who banks with NatWest, to make the switch. Both banks provide significant finance to the fossil-fuel industry.
The Canon Missioner of Bristol Cathedral, Canon Jonnie Parkin, said: “Bristol Cathedral is committed to climate justice. We take our role in this integral part of God’s mission seriously, promoting biodiversity on the cathedral estate, taking steps to reduce our carbon emissions and encouraging all those involved in the life of the cathedral to work to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation. As part of this we are reviewing our banking arrangements.
“We currently bank with NatWest, but this is under active review by our finance committee. We would hope to be able to move to a bank that aligns with our values over the next 12 months.”
Joe Ware is senior climate journalist at Christian Aid.
