Picture courtesy of interfaithpowerandlight.org
Faith & Climate Action Day will be held on October 12th at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. There will be an interfaith prayer gathering from 11-11:45 AM then from 12 to 3 PM state legislators will be speaking on the importance of climate change. To register and read the rest of itinerary, click here.
Picture courtesy of christiancentury.org
The Christian Century is a magazine published by the American Baptist Home Mission Societies. The magazine focuses on justice issues and aims to inform and shape mainline Christianity. They have an issue focused on ecojustice and hope for creation. To read this publication, click here.
http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170829/columbus-bonds-with-ghana-sister-city-through-agriculture-project
In 2015, Roman Catholic Cardinal Peter Turkson visited Ohio and the proceeds from his talk with OSU President Michael Drake at Mershon Auditorium were used as matching funds in a grant from the Initiative for Food and Agricultural Transformation (InFACT) discovery theme program to fund an agricultural exchange between Accra, Ghana, and Columbus, Ohio. Last week, three Ghanaian high school students involved in YMCA and 4-H visited Columbus in response to this sister city and sister garden initiative. The Columbus Dispatch reported on their visit… Read more.
Picture courtesy of
dispatch.com
This article from The Columbus Dispatch discusses the facts pointing towards climate change specifically in Columbus. It also offers scientific hypotheses of what will happen in Columbus in the future if our temperatures continue to rise and the climate continues to change at the current rate. Click here to learn more and read the entire article.
Picture courtesy of newcommunityproject.org
This four page resource offers a lesson plan for youth groups on stewardship and earth care. Offered by the New Community Project, it focuses on why young adults should care for creation and how to do it. To read and learn more, click here.
Picture courtesy of crs.org
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.
Picture courtesy of interfaithpowerandlight.org
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.
Organizations and their resources for Environmental Justice:This post provides links to a number of environmental resources.
Color of Change is a racial justice organization that help individuals effectively respond to injustice in the world around us. Color of Change was launched September 1, 2005 three weeks after Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast and the Bush administration’s failed response shocks the nation, James Rucker and Van Jones email roughly 1,000 friends asking them to pledge to make sure all Americans are represented, served, and protected–regardless of race or class.
New York Times Article: A Question of Environmental Racism in Flint
www.greenfaith.org
www.colorofchange.org
https://www.nytimes.com/
“Environmental Racism” is a term coined in the 1980s by Benjamin Chavis, a civil rights activist. On February 18, 2016, Rev. Fletcher Harper, Rev. Lawrence Jennings and Rev. Dr. Melanie L. Harris gave a presentation: Flint, Environmental Racism and the Black Church, which talks about the history of environmental racism and religion, the Flint Michigan water crisis, and literature on African American Environmental History. The PDF presentation can be viewed here