Protest as Counterbalance to the Disappointment of COP27
And Scripture Reflection: Being Doers of the Word
On Saturday, I went with my friend, Rev. Éric Hébert-Daly, to the Extension Cord Protest hosted by Fridays for Future Ottawa (https://www.fridaysforfutureottawa.org/) and Ontario Clean Air Alliance (https://www.cleanairalliance.org/ ). It was a family-friendly event held at Ottawa River Parkway and Booth St. Many of us had extension cords attached to poles, and we walked a large extension cord across the bridge to Quebec, to represent the need for Ontario to buy plentiful hydro-electric power from Quebec. Instead, the Ontario government is insisting on using aging nuclear plants and natural gas and planning on building more of both. Nuclear power (regardless of where one sits on the issue of the safety of nuclear energy) is expensive and will take a long time to build, and so will not be of any use in mitigating fossil fuel emissions within the timelines set out by the IPCC. And building more natural gas plants, when what we need is an immediate phase-out of all fossil fuels, is simply ludicrous. Instead, clean renewable power is available now, by plugging into Quebec’s grid, as well as in the building of wind and solar energy systems.
As COP27 comes to a close without a commitment to phase out fossil fuels, it felt good to walk in the cold with others who care about the climate, and want to make a difference. All ages were there, from young kids in puffy snowsuits with their parents holding cups of coffee, university students enjoying the free locally-made sandwiches, and the rest of us, standing with a friend or on our own, stamping our feet and moving around to stay warm. We were all there to insist that it is time, it is past time, for the short-sighted energy solutions to end, and for the most obvious clean (and cost-effective!) solutions to be undertaken.
For me, being at the protest was a counterbalance to the disappointing news out of COP27. It provided an avenue for hope, for hope in the midst of fear, anger and frustration. It provided a means of hope in action, with a diverse group of people coming together for the same cause.
Éric and I were in collar, to represent the presence of religious leadership from our tradition. What we know, as Christian ministers, as disciples of Jesus, is that climate action is part of loving our neighbours. It is part of loving our human neighbours, those in our community affected by extreme weather events, and in the global South, where the increasing consequences of global warming are the most felt. It is also part of loving our other-than-human neighbours, members of the Earth community of which we are a part, our non-human neighbours who are losing their habitats and going extinct as a result of climate change. Climate action today, in its various forms including protest, is a part of following Jesus. It is a form of discipleship.
I look forward to seeing you at the next event!
Announcements
Things are quieting down for me until the new year. I am grateful to be able to spend a reflective time during Advent and to spend more dedicated time to books that I am writing.
In the new year, I will be scheduling speaking events, including for Earth Day Sunday on April 16, 2023 (or April 23), and Environment Sunday on June 4, 2023. If you are interested in having me preach (in person or online) on one of those days, or to have a group event, please email: jessica@jessicahetherington.ca. I would love to hear from you!
BLOG POST: Religious Diversity in the Earth Community
Find it here: https://jessicahetherington.ca/blog/
Scripture Reflection
22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; 24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. 25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.
26 If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:22-27, NRSV)
An article came came into my inbox this morning from Grist.org (https://grist.org/) on the way that Canada’s Indigenous Services Agency, through underfunding and understaffing, is failing Indigenous communities with respect to the climate crisis. Because of long-time neglect of structural issues facing First Nations communities such as “aging infrastructure, weak socioeconomic supports, homes in remote locations, and a history of communities being relocated from traditional lands to flood and wildfire-prone areas,”[1] the absence of an updated emergency management plan, and failure to put in place climate change mitigation strategies, more money is being spent to deal with emergency recovery after a climate event, versus the money required to invest in mitigation and emergency preparedness. The author of the article states that “for every $1 invested in mitigation, $6 could be saved in emergency response and recovery costs.”
As a settler in Canada, I read this and am horrified. This is an example of the way that marginalized communities within Canada, in this case First Nations communities, are disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis. It also highlights the way that issues of injustice and oppression in our world are intersected: the issue of the underfunding of the work that the Indigenous Services Agency sits at the intersection of ecological crisis and the colonization of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
As a settler, when I sat in prayer this morning, after reading the article, I was drawn to the idea of listening. How many of us in Canada are listening to what Indigenous communities have been saying to us about the living conditions in their places? How many of us are listening to what is being shared about the ways that global warming is impacting our neighbours, near and far? How many of us are listening to what the scriptures tell us about listening, and then acting?
This brings me to the scripture text, above. As people of faith, we are reminded that we are not merely to be hearers of the word of God, but doers of the word. We are not merely to go to church, read scripture, and pray; we are to act on what we learn in church, read in our sacred texts, and discover in our prayers. James tells us in clear terms what spiritual practice must include: “to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Our spiritual practice is meant to include concrete actions of care and compassion that come out of our listening to the word. In our time and place, if we are going to be hearers of the word, then we must go out and be doers who act for climate action, who act for those who are disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis in our country, who act on the 94 Calls to Action released by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and who seek to work for healing and justice at the intersection of climate and colonialism.
I invite you to take some time with this scripture text and pray it. Lectio divina is a good practice to try. I invite you to pray it and then ask God, “God what is it you want me to hear? What are you telling me now?” You may wish to sit with the issue presented by the article in Grist, or with another issue that is weighing on you now. And then I invite you to pray, “What are you calling me to do?” When you respond and act, you will be blessed in your doing. AMEN.
[1] Maria Parazo Rose, “Underfunded, understaffed, Canada’s Indigenous Services Agency is failing to protect First Nations,” https://grist.org/global-indigenous-affairs-desk/underfunded-understaffed-canadas-indigenous-services-agency-is-failing-to-protect-first-nations/. Accessed November 21, 2022.
Contact
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