Hazel Richardson introduces Earth Hour

 I've been participating in Earth Hour for several years now. On one Saturday evening in late March, people all over the world undertake to use no electricity for one hour, starting at 8.30pm, local time. This year it's Saturday 27th.

It's an initiative launched in 2007 by the World Wildlife Fund, to encourage us to think about our need to produce and use energy wisely in order to care for our planet and all the creatures we share it with.

Why not give it a try? Switch off the television and the lights, find some candles and do something creative: play a musical instrument, sing, draw, step outside and look up at the night sky (perhaps seeing the stars shine more brightly than ever). Write a letter, or a poem. Or simply sit in silence, connected to the earth instead of the internet, sensing that you're the presence of God, and knowing that you're part of a huge movement across the world, sharing this moment of focused and meaningful darkness. Earth Hour is a very simple and enjoyable thing that everyone can do, and yet it feels profound.

Here's a poem I wrote during Earth Hour a few years ago, which I hope might encourage you to give it a try.

There's going to be a new initiative this year as well - a nationwide meditation, to calm our busy minds, practise gratitude, and reflect on our commitment to saving the planet - and there are many suggested activities for children to join in too.

To find out more, see www.earthhour.org

I
am
alone in
the flicker
of candle-light,
sitting on the
  floor, cosy
and

comfortable, at peace.
The only  sounds are the
ticking of the clocks and
the whistle of the wind
in the chimney. Bread
and cheese to eat. The
‘livingness’ of the candle
flames make them into my
companions for this hour
of calm solitude and rest,
  ness of the day. The room
  has a different feel in this

light – more mellow, kind,
and comforting…although it

is always these for me. My
own space. Shadows dance

on the ceiling. Their move-
ment makes them live too.
I think of the Earth….its people,
animals, birds, insects, plants,
oceans, lakes, rivers, deserts,
mountains, sky – God’s creation.
And I read the words: “Walk on
the earth gently. Walk on the Earth
gently, for it is precious and it is weeping.”