Can the Climate Crisis Help Us Bring Justice?

Crisis Watch Aug. 31, 2023

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A United Methodist Insight Column

So much has changed in the three years that I've been writing this column.

We're still dealing with the massive social changes wrought in both church and society by the coronavirus pandemic, a worldwide plague that none of us expected would be so serious and last so long. Churches are adapting still to the mixed blessing of beaming online services to people who, once apprehensive about gathering in crowds for fear of infection, are now preferring livestreamed services because of their safety and convenience. A recent Pew Research Center survey showed that we long for face-to-face community, yet we're afraid of falling prey to a constantly mutating virus whose incidence is rising once again.

Then this summer the global climate crisis exploded – quite literally in the case of wildfires – to levels that drew nearly everyone in the world into its life-threatening effects. As I write, Hurricane Idalia sweeps across the southeastern United States, bringing massive storm surge and torrential rainfall, powered by the Gulf of Mexico's overheated waters. At one point, Idalia's storm surge caused Florida's Steinhatchee River to flow backwards, sending sailboats crashing into a mast-breaking bridge, according to a Weather Channel video.

As Climate Central's graphic above shows, the coming of fall may prove to be warmer as well.

Even when confronted by the unassailable facts of their own experiences, people are still denying that a) we're living through catastrophic times and b) the times call for radical unified action to save Planet Earth and all its flora and fauna, including the human species.

The resistance to dealing with climate change, even though it's crumbling a bit, is enough to make the most hopeful Christian despair. For those of us who've reached a certain age, our memories of times past when we marched for civil rights and racial justice, against war and corrupt politicians (both of which we have too much once again), now rankle. There seems to be no way to muster the collective moral courage and sacrifice exemplified by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was able to call upon both faith and patriotism to spur social change.

My favorite climate activist, Bill McKibben, whose United Methodist ties I invoke constantly, had this to say about the change-making potential of the blistering, blighted Summer of '23:

"This summer almost everyone has a) sucked smoke b) dodged floods c) endured preposterous heat. Many have hit the trifecta. Yes, some people have had it worse than others, and since this is America those people are likely to be poor and Black. But we’re at the point where everyone can start to feel the threat. (Even asocial billionaires, though they tend to respond by buying up land they imagine will offer an escape). That collective fear/sadness/anger/maybe a little hope constitutes a shared self-interest—one that we can build on to make the kind of broad movement that might make justice real again." – "The Prophetic and the Practical," from The Crucial Years, Aug. 30.

As Fred Rogers, a Presbyterian minister as well as a children's television icon, always said, "Look for the helpers." Just as Jesus, Gandhi and Dr. King were vilified and assassinated, those who are doing their best to help are often seen as troublemakers by those who'd rather cling to a death-dealing status quo than get behind transformative action (see photo and item below).

Thankfully there are signs of hope:

From the Washington Post comes a profile of Tia Hatton of Flagstaff, Ariz., one of the plaintiffs in a federal climate lawsuit, Juliana vs. United States, that may be bolstered by this summer's landmark ruling on climate in the youth-led action Held vs. State of Montana. Juliana, as it's known, was filed in 2015, alleging that the federal government " 'willfully ignored' the dangers of burning fossil fuels and in turn violated the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights to life, liberty and property, and failed to protect public trust resources," writes Kate Selig. Climate activists are hoping that a trial for Juliana vs. United States, which has been stalled for years, may bring legal pressure to bear on public climate policy at last.

Within The United Methodist Church, there is hopeful action on several fronts.

+ Thanks to the innovation and creativity of activists Bee Moorhead of Texas Impact and John Hill, current interim executive of the General Board of Church and Society, there's a new shared post, Climate Fellow, to help educate churches about the urgency of advocacy for climate-saving public policy. The new Climate Fellow, Dr. Becca Edwards, combines in her credentials the fact-finding skill of a scientist – she taught climate science at UMC-related Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas – with that of a theologian – she's a candidate for ordained deacon in the Rio Texas Annual Conference. Edwards is only one person, so it's unfair to place too much burden for change on her shoulders, but I have high hopes that her gifts for education and advocacy will spur legions of believers to take up creation care action and advocacy.

+ United Methodist Creation Justice Movement has been steadily building both its constituency and its resources to help churches step up to the need for climate advocacy. The Rev. Laura Baumgartner, pastor of Haller Lake United Methodist Church in Seattle, WA, and UMCJM's worship committee have crafted a set of resources for worship to mark the month-long Season of Creation that begins Sept. 1. In addition, UMCJM members were successful this year in getting climate-friendly resolutions adopted by nine U.S. annual conferences. Not since the creation of our racial-ethnic caucuses has there been such energy around an issue. It's definitely a group to join, support and watch.

+ The net-zero carbon emissions campaign of all United Methodist boards and agencies continues. These official bodies have pledged to zero-out their carbon emissions by 2050; get the 2022 report, which lays out the movement's theological and practical rationale and its goals.

+ The sustainable investing policy of Wespath Benefits and Investments, the UMC's pensions agency. Wespath often comes under fire from climate advocates for its policy of holding shares in fossil-fuel companies, and momentum is building for a showdown at the 2024 General Conference to force Wespath and all United Methodist units to divest from fossil fuels. Much as we'd like investment purity (in the same way that many desire doctrinal purity in the UMC), Wespath's strategy thus far has successfully walked the precarious line between decimating the assets that fund clergy pensions and pressuring fossil-fuel companies to move to renewable energy. Commendable as the method is, this summer's disasters have shown that Wespath's strategy may now be outdated. Even with vigorous advocacy for change from within, it may be time for The United Methodist Church to put all its money where its aspirational climate resolutions are. I hope that both Wespath's skilled and knowledgeable staff and divestment advocates are seeking ways to address the fossil-fuel issue without causing undue harm to the thousands of clergy who rely upon their pension funds.

To invoke McKibben again: "... The climate movement is perhaps the first truly global campaign, designed to bring everyone who lives beneath our shared sky on board. As Dr. King put it, 'We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.' Climate change is the ultimate proof of that truth."

The cost of discipleship

Now, the not-so-good – even downright bad – news about advocating for care of God's creation: as The Guardian's climate reporter Nina Lakhani writes in the Aug. 31 issue of the "Down to Earth" newsletter: "From Greta Thunberg to Guatemala, climate protestors are being treated like criminals." Lakhani reports:

"It’s worth noting that criminalization is among a gamut of repressive tools being used against climate and environmental activists, which also includes online attacks, financial sanctions and even kidnap and assassinations. Yet criminalization stands out as it exposes the barefaced nexus between corporations and governments. Corporations can hire private security thugs to intimidate and attack grassroots leaders, but they cannot arrest and charge them without their political and law enforcement allies."

As Christians, we shouldn't be surprised at attacks on and repression of those who seek common good. Jesus preached that there was no god but God, and the Romans executed him as a political activist at the behest of colluding religious authorities. So we must be prepared to sacrifice if we're called to public protest, even civil disobedience, on behalf of Planet Earth. Not all of us are called to physical protest; email, text messages, letters and phone calls can also be effective forms of witness, especially with public officials who rely on our votes. Nonetheless, we can uphold those who discern a call to public witness, because they're putting themselves on the line on our behalf.

BTW "Down to Earth" is an excellent resource for climate care advocates. Sign up here for "Down to Earth" or any of its 47 companion newsletters from The Guardian. Other good sources: UM Creation Justice Movement's monthly Tips by Crys Zinkiewicz; JustCreation by the Rev. Richenda Fairhurst; the Washington Post's "Climate Coach" by Michael Coren; climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe's "Talking Climate"; and (of course) Bill McKibben's "The Crucial Years."

Media Mentions as of Sept. 1, 2023

Lawsuit Resolution Update from the Western North Carolina Conference Board of Trustees

Exit signs: What we learned from testimony in two Oklahoma United Methodist civil cases – The Oklahoman

Disaffiliation votes hold special risks for rural churches, United Methodist pastors say – Fairfield Sun Times

Cultural Immersion trip concludes with Ponca Tribe Powwow – Great Plains Annual Conference

Divided in Devotion: The Controversial Split of Dexter's Methodist Congregation – The Sun Times News

Methodist conference | Members discuss prejudice against LGBTQ individuals and same ... – The Fiji Times

United Methodist Church demands $4 million from Maryland congregation as 'exit fee,' pastor says – Washington Times

Historic High Point church Wesley Memorial chooses 'the side of traditionalists' in leaving ... – FOX8 WGHP

An award-winning religion journalist who has reported on The United Methodist Church at all levels for 35 years, Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, an online journal she founded in 2011. "Crisis Watch" forms part of Insight's participation in Covering Climate Now, an international collaboration of some 500 news outlets around the world committed to enhance climate coverage. To reproduce this content elsewhere, please email Insight for permission.