Rachel Calvert, Chair of A Rocha France, considers the environmental impacts of technology
Technology permeates our daily existence. What if we took a break from it to reflect on its influence on our relationships and our spiritual life, and to reconnect with what the gospel teaches us is essential?
Each summer, A Rocha France organises a week-long seminar at Les Courmettes, our field centre in the mountains near Nice. It’s a time of training and fellowship for those who are part of our “ambassadors’ network” but is also open to other interested Christians. Two years ago, our theme was “Ecology and solidarity”: we explored the way that climate change and environmental degradation tend to affect the poor first. Scripture calls us to respond with compassion and action to the suffering of our brothers and sisters impacted by poverty: what does that mean for us as Christians living in richer countries? Can our choices and our prayers make a difference?
Last year we explored a biblical perspective of the question on “Living with limits”. Often, we tend to think of limits as bothersome, things which constrain us and prevent us from achieving all that we would like. But the Bible teaches us that limits can also be an expression of God’s grace.
This year, we’ll be thinking through issues related to the environmental impacts of technology. The digital revolution has transformed our experience of time and space, and artificial intelligence is in the process of revolutionising our lives still further. French protestant theologian Jacques Ellul is famous well beyond the walls of the church for his profound thinking about the power of technology over human society. But it is important for all of us to take time to think about what it means to live under the lordship of Christ in this context.
Please pray for Yoanna, the coordinator of the ambassadors’ network, as she plans and prepares. The week (28 July-4 August) will be in French but is open to participants from the UK.
