Malvern Earth Vigil
Saturdays and Tuesdays , 12 – 1pm, Church Street
The Malvern Earth Vigil is made up of ordinary people from all walks of life who are united in our concern for our planet. We sit in silence and hold the Earth in our hearts. By being visible in the centre of Malvern, we are speaking up about the climate and ecological crisis which needs our urgent attention.
Our first Vigil was held on the August 24th 2020. Since then we have been meeting every Saturday from midday until 1pm – whatever the weather. There is now a second vigil every Tuesday between midday and 1pm, led by local XR Buddhists.
If you’d like to join us, do just turn up. You can either sit with us in silence on the Belle Vue Terrace steps or at the bench at the top, or say hello to our outreach people at the bottom of the steps. Do dress for the weather and feel free to bring a camping chair or cushion if you want to be more comfortable.
Some people may say that our time would be better spent planting trees or lobbying the government. Members of the vigil are doing these things too, and we also believe that there is a place for this powerful form of witness, which both helps members of the vigil to become grounded and connected to the Earth, and helps us to get out our message which is that the planet is in need of our help.
We also trust that coming together and sending our compassion to the planet has an effect – both tangibly (those spending time at the vigil are more likely to feel connected to the planet, and so make ethical choices) and, for some of us, in more intangible and spiritual ways.
Extinction Rebellion focuses on system change rather than blaming individuals for their lifestyles – it is impossible to live a perfectly ethical life in a broken system, and even if we did as much as we could as individuals, it wouldn’t make much difference – the power is in the hands of the fossil fuel companies, big financial institutions, corporations and the government. Whilst it is good to make individual changes, system change is what we need.
If you need a reminder of the frightening facts of the climate and ecological emergency, click here.
There are many ways that we can act together to change our systems – either with the Malvern XR group or with other environmental or justice groups. To learn more about what we do in Malvern and across Worcestershire, click here or sign up to the newsletter here. You can find out more about Extinction Rebellion UK here, including some great FAQs here (what about the disruption we cause, are our demands too vague etc).
Great Malvern, alongside a group in Westminster, is the first town to hold an ongoing vigil for our Earth. If you’d like to read more about the Earth Vigil project and maybe encourage your friends in other towns and cities to do the same, visit the Earth Vigil site. The project was initiated by various members of XR faith groups (XR Buddhists, Christian Climate Action etc.).Vigils have many advantages. They are a great first action for people who are new to activism – most of us can manage to sit quietly for half an hour! They are often a powerful experience for those taking part, and they are a peaceful and poignant reminder for members of the public going about their usual business.
We hope that you might join us on a future Saturday or Tuesday – do come and say hello to our ‘outreach’ person at the bottom of the steps. All are welcome – whether you feel aligned with the goals of Extinction Rebellion or not. We all have our home on this beautiful planet, and regardless of our other beliefs we hope that we can all agree that we would like to clear up as much of our mess as we can, and leave it in as good a state as we can for future generations. Come and sit with us for a few minutes or for as long as you wish – we would love for you to join us!
Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or comments do feel free to email xrmalvern_regen@riseup.net
Some photos from our first vigil are below. We look forward to seeing you soon!
The Malvern Vigil team
