© Gstudio / Adobe Stock
© Gstudio / Adobe Stock
On Earth Day 2024, the Rev. Bronwen Boswell, Acting Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), has issued a statement about the ways the PC(USA) stands united with over 35 other denominations in acknowledging climate change as a profound moral and ethical issue demanding urgent attention and action.
“May our actions be guided by principles of love, compassion, and justice as we seek to fulfill our calling to be faithful stewards of God's gift of Creation,” Boswell writes.
Read the full statement below.
As followers of Christ, we are called to tirelessly work towards caring for, protecting, and preserving our shared planet. However, we confess that our lives often prioritize consumption and convenience over care and sustainability for Creation. Our actions, inactions, and indifference contribute to the planet's rising temperatures. Our dependence on technology, essential minerals, and energy leads to harmful extractive practices, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and the treatment of our planet as a commodity rather than a precious gift from God. These actions contribute to preventable disasters and unfavorable living conditions for our fellow human beings. The consequences of our warming climate include forced migration, rising sea levels, and extreme weather patterns that destroy livelihoods and homes, leading to a loss of biodiversity and food and to water insecurity.
We acknowledge the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable communities, both locally and globally. Indigenous peoples, low-income communities, people of color, and future generations are among those most severely affected by environmental degradation and climate disruption.
The PC(USA) stands united with over 35 other denominations in acknowledging climate change as a profound moral and ethical issue demanding urgent attention and action. Scripture charges us to be stewards of God's Creation and to care for the least among us. Genesis reminds us, “The LORD God took [the human] and put [them] in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it (2:15).” Similarly, Jesus identifies with the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, and imprisoned, urging Christ’s followers to care for these brothers and sisters as they would care for him (Matthew 25:34-41).
The General Assemblies of the PC(USA) and its predecessor denominations have spoken to our responsibility to care for God’s Creation and be mindful of our use of natural resources since the 1950s. In the following decades, the PC(USA) has demonstrated our care for God’s Creation and our responsibility to the Earth and all its people through myriad policy statements. The 202nd General Assembly (1990) affirmed ecology and justice work as imperative to our faith. Please read the "Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice" resolution in its entirety.
The Church has also used its voice in places of power, advocating for sustainability in life and commerce. We recognize that although we are already halfway to the 2030 United Nations marker for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals developed in 2012, our progress lags significantly behind. The PC(USA), along with over 50 faith organizations, supports the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty advocating for a fossil fuel-free future. While the outcome of COP28 is insufficient to achieve these goals, it represents a faithful step forward in limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050.
This Earth Day, we recommit ourselves to advocating for policies and practices that address the root causes of climate change and promote environmental justice for all Creation and for all people in it. This includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to renewable energy sources, standing with communities impacted by environmental racism, oppression, or extractive industries, and promoting sustainable and equitable development. We urge Presbyterians to challenge consumerism and be mindful of consumption. We also recognize the importance of supporting communities already experiencing the harmful impacts of climate change through adaptation measures, disaster relief, and economic assistance.
In our pursuit of climate justice, we are called to engage in dialogue, education, and advocacy within our congregations, communities, and governments. We seek to amplify the voices of those most affected by climate change and to work in solidarity with and be led by them to create a more just and sustainable future. May our actions be guided by principles of love, compassion, and justice as we seek to fulfill our calling to be faithful stewards of God's gift of Creation.
Let us pray:
Scripture tells us that “Creation waits with eager longing for the children of God to be
revealed.”
To open our eyes to the devastation in our world.
To put the needs of the most vulnerable above the greed of the powerful.
To move from doing what is easy to doing what is necessary and right.
To prioritize the needs of community over the convenience of self.
To remove pollution from our seas, land, air, bodies, and hearts.
Creation is waiting for us.
In all these things and more, Creation waits for us to assume our roles as its servants
and protectors. With God’s help, we will answer Creation’s call.
Amen.
(Some of the lines in the prayer are derived from Creation Justice Ministries' Earth Day Sunday 2024 resource)
Rev. Bronwen Boswell
Acting Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)