Climate Change Captures United Methodists' Election Interests

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A United Methodist Insight Special

As the U.S. presidential election moves into its final weeks, United Methodists are focusing attention on a global issue that's getting little in the way of candidate and media attention: Earth's rapidly warming environment and its effect on people.

Two United Methodist-related bodies held daytime webinars Sept. 18 and 19, presaging events during the convergence this week of the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week in New York City. United Methodist Creation Justice Movement held a 90-minute "cafe" Sept. 18 with the theme "Politics, Methodists, and Environmental Holiness." The next day, United Women in Faith's Just Energy 4 All unit partnered with the newly renamed ministry Immigration Law and Justice (formerly Justice For Our Neighbors) for a Spanish-English webinar, "Climate Change, Displacement & Conflict: Migrants Speak."

Co-sponsoring the UWF/ILJ webinar were the United Methodist Committee on Relief, the General Board of Church and Society, the UMC's National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministries, Sojourners SoJo Action, and the Interfaith Immigration Coalition.

Both webinars touched on common elements:

  • Climate change intersects with and influences many other public issues, including racism, economics and immigration.
  • The new Social Principles, a United Methodist set of guidelines for Christian living, clearly state that believers have responsibility to care for the Earth as stewards of God's creation.
  • United Methodists "gotta get in the game" of politics, as Movement Cafe moderator Richenda Fairhurst phrased it, to build local and state collaborations to influence public policies.

"We're citizens of two different realms – first of the kingdom of God which then shapes us in the political realm grounded in life and teachings of Jesus," said Keith Sexton, a coordinator of advocacy for the creation care team of the UMC's North Carolina Annual (regional) Conference.

Ethicist Darryl W. Stephens, director of Methodist studies at Lancaster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, noted that the new Social Principles become official UMC policy on Jan. 1, 2025. Adopted in May by the UMC's legislative General Conference, the Social Principles point out three "perils" to creation:

  • Destruction of ecosystems,
  • Global warming and climate change, and
  • Dependence on fossil fuels.

Stephens said that Methodists consistently have been concerned about the environment since the 1930s. The United Methodist Church adopted its first resolution on global warming in 1980, calling attention to how greenhouse gases warmed Earth's atmosphere.

"Creation justice means abundant life for all, the full flourishing for all of creation," Stephens said.

Political but not partisan

Other Movement Cafe speakers emphasized that political activism didn't mean partisan action, instead focusing on bringing complex issues into public conversations with respect.

Retired United Methodist pastor Mel Caraway emphasized the importance of communications when responding to public projects that threaten the environment.

"People are using fear tactics to attack (climate change) facts," said Caraway. "We must be willing to listen to their point of view, then respectfully confront them with facts."

Caraway urged webinar participants to encourage people to vote, whatever their climate views might be. He recommended two books to prepare for difficult conversations about the environmental future, "Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World" by Kathryn Hayhoe, an evangelical Christian, and "Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change" by British climate communicator George Marshall, co-founder of the Climate Outreach and Information Network.

Climate change's influence on migration can be brutal, even murderous, according to the three migrants, two men and a woman, who spoke during the United Women in Faith webinar. The webinar was held primarily in Spanish with English translation.

'Climate refugee' officially unacceptable

Ilka Vega, United Women in Faith's executive for environmental and economic issues, opened the session by noting that the idea of "climate refugee" doesn't carry authority with U.S. immigration officials. She said United Nations data shows 21.5 million people have been displaced by climate since 2010.

"Most are from countries that haven't contributed to planet warming," Vega said.

Albar Jaramillo, Immigration Law & Justice co-executive director, decried the "many stories about immigrants (that) have been racist, xenophobic and blatantly false."

Both male speakers were identified only by first names because of the potential threat to their lives. One of the two men also asked not to be pictured on the webinar because he is still in danger while awaiting a visa in Mexico. In order to further protect them, Insight identifies the speakers only by an initial.

One of the men, G, told how he used to grow avocados, and was forced by drug cartels to turn over his crops to them. Then drought caused the region's avocado trees to die.

"The cartels don't care," G said. "They told me they would kill me if I failed again. That's when I left the country illegally."

In response to Vega's question, G said government authorities are no help.

"You become a greater target if you go to the authorities because they're mixed up with bad people and they tell on you," G said. "I went once, and (drug cartel enforcers) beat me. It's better if you don't go; I told them the water dried up because there's no water for avocados; they scare you, they say they're going to kill you.

"Because I was trying to organize others I became an even bigger target," he said. "My brother said I had to leave because the cartels said they were going to kill me."

C said his Indigenous community in northern Honduras also was intimidated by drug traffickers and had their property confiscated.

"As a defender of human rights, I was a victim in our country," C said. (When he tried to emigrate) "police in Guatemala asked for 'collaboration' – that mean giving them money. If you didn't have cash, you'd also have problems.

The third speaker, S, said she escaped the poor conditions in her community at age 16 by marrying a much older man. Unfortunately, the marriage became a domestic violence situation, and she eventually fled illegally to the United States. With the help of an immigrant relief agency, she divorced her abusive husband. She said she is now a legal immigrant through a second marriage but is still unable to find work as a teacher because her Honduran credentials aren't accepted. She said that many Central American professionals who emigrate to the United States face similar hurdles.

"We aren't lazy; we want to work, but these barriers are put in our way," said S.

Both webinars concluded with virtual "break-out" rooms for participants to discuss strategies and tactics for bringing climate issues to their congregations and communities.

Veteran religion journalist Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, an online news-and-views journal she founded in 2011 to provide a media channel for marginalized and under-served United Methodists.