CLIMATE CHANGE:�THE CHURCH’S RESPONSE

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Definition

• “Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.”

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Source: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-changed the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.”

How can the church respond?

1. Container Gardening –to reuse and recycle plastic
2. Environmental Committee for Churches and a coordinator 
3. Tree Planting

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How can the church respond?

4. Environmental Competition among churches

5. Environmental Club for school

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How can the church respond?

• 6. Confirmands can plant trees
• 7. Plant navel strings

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How can the church respond?

8. Beautify Church Grounds

9. Encourage Composting/Organic Fertilizers 

10.Invest in energy efficient vehicles

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How can the church respond?

10. Soup Kitchens/Church outreach - Use reusable plates, plastic cups, etc. instead of plastic and paper plates.

11. Encourage and use the environmental

Calendar 

12. SOLAR Panels

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How can the church respond?

• Practice recycling 
• Environmental Programmes in Churches and Schools 
• Sunday Liturgies
• Sermons should also speak to environmental issues

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Have a teaching campaign to emphasize the importance of trees

• Only organisms to remove CO₂ and which produces oxygen
• Understand that mined out lands take several years to recover

Encourage the replanting of trees

• Embark on a massive project to replant trees/forests
• Church has to play a part as a means of our reconciling with Creation

Recycling:

• Plastics – washed and reused or be molten and reused for other products
• Organic wastes – Composting

Encourage the use of alternative forms of energy for our churches, schools and even our homes).

• Decrease our reliance on Fossil Fuel
• Churches can drive this change by installing solar panels on our church roofs, schools and rectories.

Discourage the burning of lands for farming.

• Encourage the use of electric vehicles and low emission vehicles.
• Even though electric vehicles are encouraged, be mindful that the majority of power produced by the JPS Grid is from the burning of oil (Fossil Fuel).
• Lands owned by the church could be used to invest in solar renewable facilities, (such as the 100KWp solar Photovoltaic system at UTech), and energy be sold to the grid and run our places of worship

Buy reusable bags

Avoid burning plastics

Encourage churches and home owners to:

• Practice energy conservation techniques.
• Buy low energy devices and energy saving bulbs

Encourage churches and home owners to:

• Practice energy conservation techniques.
• Buy low energy devices and energy saving bulbs
• use alternative forms of energy e.g. solar energy electricity to run the home, outdoor lighting and water heaters.

Encouraging confirmands to plant a tree as a symbol of their spiritual growth.

Confirmation Group of 2022

Having an appreciation for Trees

• When planting trees, there is a liturgy of thanksgiving that came out of the Lambeth conference that can be used.
• Trees and other green plants are the only organisms that:
• produce oxygen
• remove the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
• Trees can therefore play a role in the absorption of Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere, thus reducing the warming up of the earth (global warming).
• Trees prevent land slides
• Trees provide shade
• In caring for trees, there is therefore a sense of reciprocity.
• They provide for us, and so we in turn should be caring for them

Role of the Church

• The Church therefore has a major role in advocating for the protection of the environment and those who suffer great environmental injustices
• Farming is long term sustainability – people benefits
• Mining is short term investment – people suffers.
• The Church must be voice of the voiceless.
• The Church must also seek to take steps to correct the environmental ills created by humanity, and see in what ways we can green our operations as a people.

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Other Suggestions

• Partner with other churches.
• Practice recycling 
• Environmental Service 
• Education Seminars: help members to become more aware of the need to protect their environment.
• Form advocacy groups that seek to advocate for the protection of our citizens who are impacted by environmental devastation. 

Conclusion

• Professor Laurel Kearns (1996) proposes an ecojustice position which “focuses on linking environmental concerns with church perspectives on Justice issues, such as the just sharing of limited resources, and the real cost on environmental problems.”
• The climate is changing, but unfortunately, it is for the worse, so as members of church, we must do our part to see what we can do to address the issue of climate change in our own congregations.

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Thank You!

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