The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has affirmed since 2016 a commitment to mission and ministry as guided by Matthew 25. That commitment, to building vital congregations, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty, is meant to move us into deeper understandings of who we are called to be as followers of Jesus Christ and how we are called to love our neighbors.
In addition to the existential threat that climate crisis poses, it’s also a factor in conflict and violence around the world, the Rev. Dr. Mark Douglas said earlier this month on “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast.”
Five years ago, members of the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) visited South Louisiana to see the devastating effects of climate change on Native American tribes living in the coastal bayous.
Dr. Colin Evans helped the 70 or so participants attending a Presbyterians for Earth Care webinar Tuesday to connect the dots between the extreme global weather patterns that make headlines and the world’s worsening climate crisis.
The provisional total for the 28th Conference on the Parties (COP28) suggests that 97,372 delegates registered to attend the summit in person. With a further 3,074 attending virtually, this takes the overall total to 100,446. These numbers easily make the Dubai event the largest COP in history. The first climate COP – held in Berlin in 1995 – had 3,969 delegates.
Among those nearly 100,000 delegates were four Presbyterians, including Alethia White, World Mission’s Co-Regional Liaison for Northern and Central Europe, for whom this event was a first. “Some of the most beautiful parts of COP for me was the way in which it is, in a lot of ways, a microcosm of the whole globe, really. And we are all here because we are committed to caring about this issue of climate change.”
Of the many tools a farmer can usually rely on to help ensure a successful crop yield — resources to control weeds, fight pests or build healthy soil — Kotema Lanto found nothing in his toolkit to counteract the devastating impact of climate change on the family farm.
Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock, an acclaimed author and theologian and a senior vice president and director of the Shay Moral Injury Center at Volunteers of America, served this past summer as the McClendon Scholar-in-Residence at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. She recently gave an online lecture, “Moral Injury and Climate Change: Reclaiming Our Love for This Earth.”
Around 180 people registered for last week’s Presbyterians for Earth Care webinar “The Climate Crisis: Where are we in 2023?” Dr. Colin Evans, a post-doctoral research associate at the Northeast Regional Climate Change Center at Cornell University, spoke and answered questions afterward. Watch the webinar, hosted the Rev. Bruce Gillette, Moderator of PEC, by going here.
Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock, an acclaimed author and theologian and a senior vice president and director of the Shay Moral Injury Center at Volunteers of America, is serving this summer as the McClendon Scholar-in-Residence at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, she gave an online lecture, “Moral Injury and Climate Change: Reclaiming Our Love for This Earth.”
As they prepared to lobby Capitol Hill solons Thursday about the climate crisis, food insecurity and other significant ills, Ecumenical Advocacy Days participants took in an online session on the role that climate finance can play in securing enough food for everyone.
