Operation Noah joined hundreds of organisations and tens of thousands of individuals to take part in the Together Alliance march, standing up against the rise of the far right and the politics of racism, fear and division to promote unity and love.
We were one of the partners of a coalition of Christian organisations convened by Better Story. We started the day with an inspiring service of prayer and worship which brought together hundreds of Christians and church leaders from all different denominations held at Oasis Church, London.
Prayers were led by the Rt Revd Rosemarie Mallet, Bishop of Croydon, and Rt Revd Dr Anderson Jeremiah, Bishop of Edmonton. Theologian Revd Dr Inderjit Bhogal gave a reading and the service was led by Nathan Jones, Senior Pastor at Oasis Church.
During the service, we were reminded of Jesus’ love for all people and our calling as Christians to love our neighbours and to extend that love to all, even to our enemies. These inspiring words from Martin Luther King, Jr were quoted which felt particularly pertinent to the challenges facing this country:
'Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.'
After the service, we then joined hundreds of other Christians, churches and faith organisations as part of the Christian Bloc, to march from Hyde Park to Whitehall – a journey that took nearly three hours due to the numbers of people –, singing songs of praise and protest, and witnessing to the love, justice and generosity of the gospel.
The Together Alliance is a large and diverse coalition of organisations who are taking a stand against the rise of the far right with a message of love, hope, and unity.
We share, along with leaders from all Church denominations, a deep concern of the politics of the far right and the elements of racism, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment that come with it. Moreover we are deeply concerned about the use of Christian symbolism used to support these sentiments which are a far cry from Jesus’ gospel of love for our neighbour and welcome to the stranger.
As a Christian environmental organisation, we are also concerned about the anti-net zero rhetoric and climate misinformation often associated with the far right, as well as calls from some politicians and media outlets to roll back climate policy: moves which would be deeply damaging for climate and nature and cause devastating harm to the people all over the world, particularly the poorest.
Recently, Operation Noah wrote an open letter signed by 100+ Christian leaders, addressed to Sir Paul Marshall, co-owner of GB News, challenging Marshall on statements he has made about decarbonisation (‘net zero’) and his financing of a broadcaster which researchers say regularly platformed climate misinformation in the run-up to and aftermath of the 2024 General Election. The letter and response by Marshall were covered in an article published in The Guardian on 26 March.
