Remembering Katrina, Honoring Climate Resilience

Crisis Watch Aug 23, 2022

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A United Methodist Insight Column

Seventeen years ago on Aug. 29, Hurricane Katrina, a "catastrophic damage" Category 5 storm, swept over New Orleans, La., washing away homes and lives and leaving hundreds of people – mostly Black people – desperate for rescue, relief and recovery. The ecumenical organization Creation Justice Ministries, in cooperation with the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, will honor the climate resilience of Katrina survivors and other communities of color with a special webinar to mark Environmental Justice Day.

The event, "'Catch the Fire:' Faith Communities Building Resilience to Extreme Heat" will take place online at 3 p.m. ET. Its theme comes from a poem, "Catch the Fire" by Sonia Sanchez, which reminds Black communities of their legacies of resilience and innovation in the face of systemic racism and environmental injustice.

The discussion aims to "educate participants on climate and environmental crises that have led to extreme temperatures this summer, the connections to systemic racism, and a call to action for faith communities," according to a press release. Panelists will include Gloria Ricks, President/CEO, Mt. Zion Community Outreach,  Inc. and Dr. Sacoby Wilson, Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health (CEEJH). Click here to register.

Climate questions for bishop candidates

The UM Creation Justice Movement wants delegates to November's jurisdictional conferences to make the global climate crisis a top priority for candidates for United Methodist bishop. To that end the organization has drafted a set of questions to be asked of episcopal candidates during jurisdictional conference deliberations.

Four of these five questions strike us as being useful also to discuss climate change with your pastor and other local-church staff. Be sure to share these with any jurisdictional delegates you know.

Psst – COVID's still around

Churches that have relaxed their coronavirus pandemic protocols may want to rethink that strategy according to a recent article from The Guardian: ‘Most have thrown their hands up’: has the US forgotten about Covid? Says the article by Maya Yang:

"Despite signs that indicate the latest Covid-19 surge is slowing down, an average of 400 deaths in the US is still reported on a daily basis.

" ... But as Americans and many of their elected officials go about their daily lives, many healthcare professionals still on the frontlines of the pandemic and severely affected Covid-19 patients are left wondering whether the rest of us are moving too quickly from the worst days of the pandemic."

There are sobering statistics to back up the inquiry, writes Ms. Yang. "Even though hospital admission rates have been increasing across the US this summer as a result of highly infectious variants, the amount of patients currently hospitalized with Covid-19 has plateaued at 43,000 patients, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

"By contrast, more than 160,000 virus-positive patients were hospitalized during last winter’s surge. Nevertheless, the daily average of 400 deaths across the country since spring remain a concerning figure for healthcare officials.

"Arghavan Salles, a clinical associate professor at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, expressed her frustrations over how officials and the public appears to be moving on from Covid-19, which continues to put healthcare workers under huge strain. 'It feels somewhat like a personal affront, like all our sacrifices mean absolutely nothing because in the end, no one cares,' said Salles, who worked at ICUs during the height of the pandemic."

Meanwhile, Maddie Sharpe and Alison Spencer of the Pew Research Center report that moving into its third year, the coronavirus pandemic "has transformed many aspects of public life since 2020, including how Americans work, go to school and attend religious services." In the article Many Americans say they have shifted their priorities around health and social activities during COVID-19, the authors note that, "More recently, restrictions on public activities in many places have been lifted, and Americans are increasingly more comfortable with returning to normal activities.

"For many Americans, the pandemic – which has taken more than a million lives in the United States alone – has brought a new sense of trade-offs between protecting one’s health and participating in social activities as part of daily life," the authors write. See the accompanying charts for how those surveyed responded to the Pew Center's open-ended questions.

At least one United Methodist annual conference, Western North Carolina, has recommended its churches return to requiring masks at all indoor functions. A message from conference leaders reads:

"We have begun to get updates from local churches reporting Covid outbreaks after an event or worship service.  Even though the current variant, Omicron BA.5, generally causes less severe disease than infection with prior variants, it does spread more easily. Currently, 50 of the 100 counties in North Carolina are at high risk for Covid infections and the resulting strains on the health care system.  Current transmission rates are high across the state. Hospital admissions for patients over 70 years of age have risen in the past 90 days.  In a spirit of “doing no harm,” we recommend a return to wearing masks in large indoor gatherings."

Media Mentions as of Aug. 23, 2022

Vote will determine FUMC alignment – Marysville Journal-Tribune

#PandemicPastoring ushers in a new era of church leadership – Religion News Service

Hurricane turned church into maternity ward – UM News

Vote will determine FUMC alignment – Marysville Journal-Tribune

Methodist Bishop warns against power struggle, divisiveness – The New Dawn Liberia

Volunteers from Johns Creek church help package 100,000 meals – CBS 46

Churches partner for back-to-school giveaways | Local News | emissourian.com

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.  "Crisis Watch" is part of Insight's contributions to Covering Climate Now, a worldwide collaboration of some 500 news outlets committed to enhance reporting on the climate crisis. To reproduce this content elsewhere, please email Insight for permission.