Why We Need People of Faith at the Table Talking about Climate

Recent remarks that I made to a secular audience about what people of faith bring to wider conversations about the climate emergency and the need for action

Welcome! I am Jessica Hetherington, and this newsletter is about faith and climate action. You can subscribe by clicking here:

Today’s Reflection

The crabapple tree in my backyard, last week

I returned on Sunday from three days in London, Ontario, to speak with the regional meeting of the Antler River Watershed Region of the United Church of Canada. It was such an inspiring, energizing time! Folx there are aware of how serious the climate crisis is, and about the need to transform our individual discipleship, and our collective realities as communities of faith, in response to the crisis. I came away encouraged and strengthened for the work ahead.

On Monday, I met with the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) Core Climate Justice team. If you haven’t heard of the WCRC, here is who they are:

“The World Communion of Reformed Churches is comprised of 100 million Christians in Congregational, Presbyterian, Reformed, United, Uniting and Waldensian churches. The WCRC, working with its 233 member churches, is active in supporting theology, justice, church unity and mission in over 105 countries.”[1]

I am the North American delegate to the WCRC’s Core Climate Justice group, appointed by General Council of the United Church of Canada. This was my first meeting as part of the team. It was really exciting to meet and immediately begin working with faith and ecology leaders from around the world! The time differences were fun; while it was 9 am here, and I was fresh with a second cup of coffee, it was 10 pm for my colleague in Indonesia. On June 5, World Environment Day, we will be unveiling a logo created by the WCRC to mark the inauguration of the WCRC’s Decade for Climate Justice. I will share more information about that, and how you can participate in the programming for that day, as it becomes available. We are also the steering committee planning a consultation on ecology, economics and theology to be held in October.

Over just a few days, I have been involved in exciting work that encourages, challenges and inspires people of faith to take climate action! I am feeling the hope that only comes from action. Hope-in-action.

These diverse activities have also contributed to something that I have been thinking about for a while: the fact that it is important and necessary to have people of faith at tables of climate conversations around the world. Just as we need economists, ecologists, climate scientists, Indigenous leaders, youth, activists, and civil society partners, we need people of diverse faiths joining in conversation and action on the climate emergency. Recently, I gave a talk to a Green Toastmasters group (consisting of people interested in the Green Party in Ontario/Canada and/or ecological action) regarding this very point. This Toastmaster group is not religious; while I knew a couple of people from the United Church context, I do not know how many others, if any, had faith convictions that are part of their interest in ecological concerns.

I want to share with you what I related to them about the importance of having people of faith at the table of climate conversations for action. Below is some of the text from that talk. After offering some definitions of religion, theology, and ecotheology, I described my work, and then moved the conversation beyond the perspective of faith. That description, and what came after, is below.