Saying Yes to Life: 2 Years On

Although it’s been nearly two years since Saying Yes to Life by Ruth Valerio was published, its impact in helping people getting involved with the climate crisis is still being felt all around the world.

We are thrilled to be able to share these photos with you from the Walungu rural district of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the village of Chihonga there, on 24^th June this year, there was  worship, preaching and celebration as Saying Yes to Life reading groups for 17 farming communities were launched.

An initiative spearheaded by Mudekereza Nsibula, these reading groups have been introduced though church-based discipleship groups and school based environmental clubs, which aim to promote family and community owned sustainable farms and gardens. The gardens are used as outdoor classrooms for faith and bible grounded environmental education, and there has been incredible support from the presbyterian church in making them happen.  

The goal of the Saying Yes to Life reading groups is to promote worship and equip the members to assimilate biblical principles for creation care into sustainable farming, using it as an act of worship and service to other creatures. The local region has seen decreased production as a result of recurring wars, climate change, soil degradation and loss of agroforestry species, so creation care principles like those explored in Saying Yes to Life are crucial to help the area’s ecosystem recover.

The reading groups intend to integrate these principles, along with local experience and scientific knowledge, into their future planning for farming and forestry in the area – and to keep the discussion flowing throughout the community over the years ahead.

We can’t wait to see how Chihonga and the local area benefit from Saying Yes to Life and are honoured to be even a small part of their exciting work. It’s amazing to see the global impact that Ruth’s brilliant book has had, and how it can help people from across the world come together to tackle the climate crisis.

If you want to learn more about creation care and the sort of actions you can take to do your part in helping the climate crisis, why not pick up your own copy of Saying Yes to Life? Or you could take advantage of our bulk buy offer and get your whole church involved, taking inspiration from Chihonga to come together as a community to do something about the climate crisis in your local area.

If you’ve already read the book and have been putting its principles into actions, let us know! We’d love to hear about the impact Saying Yes to Life has had on communities throughout the world.