Picture courtesy of yecaction.org
Young Evangelicals for Climate Action made a statement saying President Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement is a moral travesty. They stated that the decision not only damages America’s reputation abroad, but its economic competitiveness in the coming clean energy revolution. To read the full statement, click here.
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The Episcopal Church Bishop issued a statement full of disappointment on President Trump’s decision to withdrawal the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. He stated that Psalm 24 teaches us that the whole world belongs to God and human beings have been charged with being caretakers and stewards of God’s creation. To read the full statement, click here.
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In an article on the Catholic News Service, Chairman of the U.S Bishops Committee stated that the U.S not honoring the Paris Climate Agreement is deeply troubling. Bishop Cantu stated that although the Paris Agreement is not the only possibly way to address climate change, he “can only hope that the president will propose concrete ways to address global climate change and promote environmental stewardship.” To read the entire article from Catholic New Service, click here.
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Catholic Climate Covenant made an official statement of responses from Catholic leaders on the United States withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement. Their statement describes how disappointed they are in the decision and signatures from 12 Catholic leaders. To read the entire statement, click here.
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Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science made a statement after President Trump made the decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. It claimed that “As Muslims, we believe humans have been entrusted as stewards upon the Earth and as such are saddened and disappointed by President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris agreement. We commend and support all the countries, organizations and American states who remain committed to the agreement and are indeed willing to surpass the targets.” To read more on the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science website, click here.
Kamara Willoughby is a lifetime resident of Columbus, Ohio. She grew up in the Ephesus Seventh-Day Adventist Church and was a believer in God and his creation of the earth. Though Kamara no longer attends that church she still considers it home. Kamara always had a passion for people. Even as a young lady she created various activities, with the help of her mother, for the kids in her neighborhood which at the time was Winchester Station. She also loved nature. She spent a lot of time outside as a kid and was able to ride her bike on the trail near her home when she got older. There was a creek near her house and along with friends and family they would sneak down and play in the creek and look for different things that they didn’t see on the playground and was in awe by nature.
Kamara attended Metro High School and they went on a lot of field trips and one particular trip to Camp Lazarus is where she learned about the career field of Environmental Science. She attended Columbus State Community College (CSCC) to receive her Associates of Science degree and there she helped start the Cougars for the Community volunteer club. Through this club and her job with the Peer Advocates in the Connect 2 Complete program she wanted to engage people with nature. She is now attending The Ohio State University at the School of Environment and Natural Resources. She was Majoring in Environmental Science and because of her experiences at CSCC and her involvement in her neighborhood she switched her major to Environmental Economic Development and Sustainability (EEDS). She now gets the best of both worlds.
In her neighborhood, Milo-Grogan, she is an Area Commissioner and a member of the Milo-Grogan Civic Association. Each group holds monthly meetings to discuss revitalization plans for the neighborhood. They are currently working on housing plans, job plans and engaging neighbors in community clean-ups. The Civic Association is working on a community garden where people can sit and enjoy the scenery, hold various activities and harvest produce from the raised beds.
“This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.” ~Theodore Roosevelt
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” ~Mother Teresa
“To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” ~Douglas Adams
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Catholic Relief Services made a statement after President Trump made the decision to pull the Unites States out of the Paris Climate Agreement saying that they were greatly disappointed and, “People around the world – especially those who contribute least to global warming, will be worse off because of today’s decision.” To read more on CRS and their response, click here.
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After President Trump announced that the United States would pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, Interfaith Power & Light released a statement calling the action a sin. President of IPL, Reverend Sally Bingham, stated “I am not surprised, but I am profoundly disappointed that President Trump doesn’t have more compassion for the poorest people of the world who are suffering from the changing climate and more respect for 97% of the world’s climate scientists who have concluded without a doubt that humans are harming the climate. Abandoning the Paris Agreement is a sin.” To read more on this statement and what other board members of IPL stated, click here.
Picture courtesy of pcusa.org
Hours before President Trump announced that the United Stated would pull out of the Paris Climate Accord, the Presbyterian Church sent out an “Action Alert.” This alert asked Presbyterians to call their legislators and express their desire to remain in the agreement. After President Trump officially announced that the U.S would leave the agreement, Reverend Jimmie Hawkins, executive director of the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness stated, “Today, Presbyterians stand with Paris. Today, Episcopalians stand with Paris. Today, Buddhists stand with Paris. Today, the Jewish Community stands with Paris. People from all aspects of our faith – We stand with Paris.” To read more on Rev. Hawkins statement and Presbyterians’ reaction, click here.
http://www.ohcouncilchs.org/Resources/OCC-Staff/Executive-Director
The Rev. Rebecca J. Tollefson, a native of Iowa, became the Executive Director of the Ohio Council of Churches in April, 1997. She has held ministerial standing in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) since 1981. She is a graduate of Buena Vista University (1974) and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (1981).
Rebecca served for 10 years in parish ministry in Iowa and Minnesota, as the Director of the Commission on Faith and Order for the Minnesota Council of Churches, and then joined the national staff of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 1991. While there she served as Associate, Women Employed by the Church, and as Associate for Call Referral Services. In the fall of 1998, the Ohio Council of Churches held their first forum on environmental concerns. They had been requested to do so by the National Council of Christian Churches in the USA. From that spun the Ohio Interfaith Power and Light program.
‘I believe in ecumenism….the church universal. This is vital to the Christian faith community’s presence today. We are pressed to witness to the convictions we hold dear which keep us from being competitive or minimally cooperative. We are ALREADY the Body of Christ. We are called to live that out as sisters and brothers. We each have gifts and traditions which enrich the other. I am blessed to work with such a wonderful tapestry of who this Council is. Thanks be to God.’