This new lifestyle commitment is based around Psalm 24:1 and God's ownership of the earth. Recently, politicians have at last started talking about the moral duty of reducing our harmful impact on the environment. It's a duty to the world's poor, to species under threat, but ultimately it's our worship of God to live as if he really is Lord. The 24:1 commitment is a 'work in progress' and we want your responses and ideas to shape the way it develops.

What do I do next?

Fill in a response form. You will automatically be added to the Living Lightly 24:1 emailing list and, if you do not do so already, will receive A Rocha’s quarterly magazine. As you take steps to change your lifestyle, please tell us and send us pictures to 24.1@arocha.org. We will seek to share these, through the website, and future articles in the magazine.

Some reasons why we encourage you to sign up to 24:1

• In a survey during 2005, 74% of A Rocha's supporters expressed a desire to sign up to a voluntary commitment to change their lifestyles to help conserve the earth's resources. Well, here it is!
• Our Western culture is wedded to an unsustainable, and deeply unbiblical, addiction to materialism. As the destructive impact of our lifestyles becomes more apparent, we need to live counter-culturally, to live more simply, in response to the Biblical message.
• A Rocha's keenest supporters struggle with how to "be A Rocha" when they live many miles away from A Rocha projects. Signing up to 24:1 helps you live out A Rocha's values wherever you are.
• Now we've replaced 'membership' with the concept of 'A Rocha Friends, 24:1 gives an opportunity for those who identify closely with A Rocha and its values to 'belong' in a deeper sense.

We've deliberately not been too detailed in the 24:1 Commitment, for two reasons :

1. We don't want to create a new kind of 'Eco-Pharisee'! This is not about feeling you're better than others in your street, or church, or in A Rocha who haven't signed up to 24:1. It is about choosing to begin a journey of discovery in allowing God to change your lifestyle.

2. We recognise that everybody's situation is very different. For one person, starting to recycle paper may be a big step forward. For another, it may be time to give up your car, or switch to eating free range meat. The important thing is that your lifestyle is moving in a more sustainable direction. It is about orientation, not about achievement; it is about the journey, not about having arrived.

Answering a few questions...

• Isn't 24:1 setting up a 'two-tier system'?
  No, all our Friends, whether or not they sign up to 24:1, will get the same mailings. It is simply an optional practical commitment for those who want it.
• But I'm elderly … I have a huge mortgage … I have a tiny income … I can't do all this!
  24:1 is not a long list of commandments ("Thou shalt eat organic!!!" …). It is an open commitment, for you to take as far as you are able. The decisions you take are between God, you, and your local communities.
• But I'm already a member of …
  There are many good Christian lifestyle-based commitments and communities already. You may already belong to Greenbelt's 'Living Generously', the Northumbria Community, the third order Franciscans, Christian Ecology Link, John Ray Initiative, Lee Abbey, the Community of Aidan & Hilda … 24:1 is not designed to be exclusive! You can happily sign up to it alongside other commitments you may have. What makes it unique is its biblical focus on practical environmental responsibility.