Earth Day is this month! April 22 is the day set aside—for almost 50 years—to raise awareness of the fragility and vulnerability of our planet.
I recently attended a panel presentation on climate change. One noteworthy PowerPoint slide showed that of the 13,950 peer-reviewed scientific articles on climate between 1991 and 2012, only 24 of them challenged the idea that climate change is real, and has been caused by human activity. As the panelist pointed out, there isn’t scientific consensus that close to unanimous on any other issue, even gravity!
Human-caused climate disruption is already a catastrophe for many neighbor species with whom we share the planet—other creatures created lovingly by the God we worship. And it is a catastrophe for many human communities as well, most especially those already suffering from race-based and class-based injustice.
There are many avenues to address the heart-breaking and frightening reality of climate change, such as political activism, organizing, and advocacy—as well as making eco-friendly congregational and household/personal decisions. The Environmental Ministries Task Team, a member group of the Massachusetts Conference’s Justice and Witness Ministries, celebrates the growing number of congregations who have officially become Green Congregations by adopting a number of these practices and actions. Stay tuned for more reports on the exciting activities of our Green Congregations!
If you would like to learn more about how your church can participate, please check out the resources at macucc.org/environment; macucc.org/actionstakenbycongregations; and macucc.org/greencongregations.
However you choose to cherish this earth which God created, I hope you’ll also celebrate the delight and beauty all around us—on Earth Day and every day!
Barbara Darling is co-chair of the Environmental Ministries Task Team of the Massachusetts Conference
Image by Steven Goddard from Pixabay
I recently attended a panel presentation on climate change. One noteworthy PowerPoint slide showed that of the 13,950 peer-reviewed scientific articles on climate between 1991 and 2012, only 24 of them challenged the idea that climate change is real, and has been caused by human activity. As the panelist pointed out, there isn’t scientific consensus that close to unanimous on any other issue, even gravity!
Human-caused climate disruption is already a catastrophe for many neighbor species with whom we share the planet—other creatures created lovingly by the God we worship. And it is a catastrophe for many human communities as well, most especially those already suffering from race-based and class-based injustice. There are many avenues to address the heart-breaking and frightening reality of climate change, such as political activism, organizing, and advocacy—as well as making eco-friendly congregational and household/personal decisions. The Environmental Ministries Task Team, a member group of the Massachusetts Conference’s Justice and Witness Ministries, celebrates the growing number of congregations who have officially become Green Congregations by adopting a number of these practices and actions. Stay tuned for more reports on the exciting activities of our Green Congregations!
If you would like to learn more about how your church can participate, please check out the resources at macucc.org/environment; macucc.org/actionstakenbycongregations; and macucc.org/greencongregations.
However you choose to cherish this earth which God created, I hope you’ll also celebrate the delight and beauty all around us—on Earth Day and every day!
Barbara Darling is co-chair of the Environmental Ministries Task Team of the Massachusetts Conference
Image by Steven Goddard from Pixabay
Author
Barbara Darling
Barbara K. Darling is Co-Chair of the SNEUCC Environmental Ministries Team. She is a member of the Church of the Covenant, Federated, in Boston and a Religion Professor at Wheaton College.