Is peace just the absence of conflict, or is it something more?

In this episode, Stephen Ruttle QC talks to Peter and guest host Rachel about peace making and the art of having difficult conversations. As a professional mediator, Stephen has extensive experience in resolving conflict, helping sparring groups and individuals turn towards each other in search of peace. 

Stephen was a practicing barrister, and latterly QC, from 1978 until 2002. Since then, he has worked full time as a Commercial Mediator. In the last 20 years, he has mediated over 1,500 cases of nearly every legal type, from both public and private sectors. As well as mediating in a commercial setting, he has also supported reconciliation efforts in other areas as well, such as in churches or for nature conservation.

Do you ever wonder if you have anything to bring to the effort to protect and restore the planet? Perhaps you feel small and insignificant considering the scale of the problems. Or you think the task requires specialist skills and experience that you lack. The truth is, all of us have something to bring. And we are all needed.

Embert Messelink began his working life as a journalist and a Christian who enjoyed birding but who didn't see how they connected. When he came across A Rocha, he understood how they all fitted together and the vision for A Rocha Netherlands was born. He stepped down as National Director after 18 years in October '21 to become a pastor, and he talks with Peter and our guest host Rachel Mander about the struggles and successes of those years and his hope for the future. 

Should we really be eating Nutella? Or buying products that contain palm oil? How can - and should - consumers make environmentally-friendly choices when supply chains are so complex?

Ken speaks with Bryony and Peter about moving from the private sector to the environmental sector, his passion for the environment and the challenges of supply chains. In his professional life, Ken Yeong has worked on responsible supply chains and nature conservation. Currently, he works as Sustainability Innovation Manager at Earthworm Foundation, but previously worked in the corporate sector for Samsung, Logitech and Olympus, followed by a period at  WWF-Malaysia.

Ken also co-authored a chapter of “God’s Gardeners: Creation Care Stories from Singapore and Malaysia”, available to purchase online.

The latest IPCC report was even more dire than predicted. As one of its authors, no one could accuse Rodel Lasco of burying his head in the sand. Even if he wanted to, living in the Philippines where the changing climate now causes thousands of deaths annually, reality would have confronted him with the painful truth. And yet, in this extraordinary conversation, Rodel's deep faith and peace are palpable. If you are in need of reassurance and comfort, look no further.

Dr Rodel D. Lasco is a trustee of A Rocha International. He has almost 40 years of experience in natural resources and environmental research, conservation, education and development. His work has focused on issues related to natural resources conservation, climate change and land degradation. He is an author of several reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and is the 2007 co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. He is a member of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in the Philippines. He is the Executive Director of the Oscar M Lopez Center, a private foundation whose mission is to promote action research on climate adaptation and disasters risk reduction. Concurrently, he is a senior scientist of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), a center devoted to promoting “trees on farms”. He is an affiliate professor at the University of the Philippines

The Israelites in exile wondered how they could sing (Psalm 137:4); in our current dire situation, you may wonder what good it does to write songs. Bryony and Peter talk to a dear A Rocha friend, Sandra McCracken, about how her music has come to be her contribution to the 'renewal of all things' God is working out in and through each of us, whether artists, scientists, activists or peacemakers.

Sandra McCracken is a singer-songwriter and hymn writer from Nashville, Tennessee. A prolific recording artist, Sandra has produced 14 solo albums over two decades. Her best selling release, Psalms (2015) received critical acclaim, followed by God’s Highway (2017) which made the top 50 on Billboard Heatseekers chart without a major label. 

Blending the old and new, Sandra has also shown a unique ability to recast sacred scripture texts into theologically rich yet accessible songs. Her thoughtful lyrics and gospel melodies in songs like “We Will Feast In The House Of Zion,” “Steadfast" and “Thy Mercy My God” have become staple anthems in churches across the U.S. As a published writer, she contributes a regular column in Christianity Today and released her first book "Send Out Your Light" in September 2021.

Are people always bad news for nature? And is there anywhere we haven't had an impact? 

Dr Sarah-Lan Mathez-Stiefel is a Senior Research Scientist at the Centre for Development and Environment at the University of Bern, and Senior Advisor for the Regional Hub South America of the Wyss Academy for Nature. She has a long history with A Rocha, having first met Peter aged 11!

 Now in her 40s, Sarah-Lan has had an impressive career in the fields of sustainable development, natural resource management and conservation. One of her particular passions in ethnobiology – the study of different societies and their relationship to nature.

 An excellent communicator, she speaks with clarity and wisdom about the way ahead of nature, about the transformation of Indigenous knowledge, and how societies respond to nature in the 21st century.

In our increasingly globalized and interconnected world, the question ‘where are you from?’ is, for so many of us, difficult to answer. In the 21st century, our connection to a place and land as ‘home’ are radically different to any other time in human history.

Cheryl Bear is from Nadleh Whut’en First Nation and is well-known as an important and respected voice on behalf of Canada’s Indigenous peoples. She is an Associate Professor at Regent College in Vancouver, BC, where she currently lives. She is also a multi-award winning singer/songwriter who shares stories of Indigenous life through story and song.

In this thoughtful interview, Cheryl shares from her experience as an Indigenous woman about the role that the land and nature play in her understanding of home.

Have you ever felt as though your life is racing past at a breath-taking speed, or that every space is filled by electronic, fast-paced noise? Those living with trauma often testify to the healing impact of nature and the stillness that can be experienced in the great outdoors, yet we avoid it and worse - collude in its destruction.

Mako is a leading contemporary painter whose "slow art" the New York Times called a "rebellion against the quickening of time." As a Master of the Japanese art form Nihonga, he has steeped himself in the history of 16th century Japan where this style originated, and in the traumatic and widespread persecution of Christians at that time. He leant his expertise to Martin Scorsese for the filmed adaptation of Shūsaku Endō's novel, 'Silence' and his own book, 'Silence and Beauty: Hidden Faith Born of Suffering" explores how the Christian Faith can survive in a hostile culture and amidst even the most terrible suffering.

In this thought-provoking and moving conversation, Mako talks with Bryony and Peter about his calling to create generative art that brings life and invites people to enter the great silence where God may be heard and their suffering held.

What is it that motivates us - people of faith or none - to care for the planet? And why are conservationists so reluctant to admit their beliefs and values?

Darren Evans is Professor of Ecology and Conservation at Newcastle University, his research earning him the nickname 'Dr Duck.' He leads a research group examining the impacts of environmental change on foodwebs, especially in forestry and farmland, with a focus on mitigation and restoration strategies. He enjoys working at the science-faith interface and regularly speaks on the biblical basis for nature conservation. Darren first volunteered for A Rocha as a teenager and remains a good friend and valued advisor to us.

He talks to Peter and guest host Dan Nolloth about the underlying motivations for working in conservation, the intrinsic spirituality of caring for the planet, and the restoration of relationships between God, his people, and his land.

For all the good work now being done to address the environmental crisis, why do we not see more impact? Why do things seem to be going from bad to worse and what can be done?

Jyoti Banerjee is co-founder of North Star Transition which aims to accelerate systemic change with the goal of increasing the impact of global efforts to halt climate change and biodiversity loss.  He was part of the team that created the Integrated Reporting movement globally. He has been an impact investor for two decades and used to be an entrepreneur in the tech sector. He taught technology entrepreneurship at Said Business School, University of Oxford. He grew up in New Delhi and lives in London.