A United Methodist Insight Column
Baby Boomers may remember a Cat Stevens song that begins, “Oh, this world is burning fast.” Sadly that verse came true during the week of June 28, when extreme heat blanketed the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, and baked the U.S. Northeast as well. News accounts track the devastation of the heat wave that claimed hundreds of human lives and countless numbers of wildlife, including an estimated 1 billion marine animals in Canadian waters.
More Extreme Weather
From the Climate Beat newsletter: “You almost don’t need to ask anymore. Of course climate change is partly to blame for the record heat now scorching the Pacific Northwest. Of course climate change may have contributed to the horrific building collapse in Surfside, Florida. And of course ExxonMobil is still doing all it can to block solutions, as an ExxonMobil lobbyist incautiously revealed during a Greenpeace sting operation, first reported by British broadcaster Channel 4 …"
Among other notable headlines:
- The Record-Breaking High Temperatures Aren’t Even the Worst Part of the Pacific Northwest Heat Wave – Jane C. Hu, in Slate
- June 28 segment on Western heat – Jeff Berardelli, on CBS Good Morning
- Extreme Heat in Portland Is an ‘Acute Disaster on Chronic Disaster’ – Zoë Carpenter, in The Nation
- The connection between clearcut logging and Canada’s hottest day on record – Emma Gilchrist, in The Narwhal
- All the right words on climate have already been said – Sarah Miller, in Nieman Lab
- Underpaid firefighters, overstretched budgets: The U.S. isn’t prepared for fires fueled by climate change – The Washington Post*
- Extreme Heat in Portland Is an ‘Acute Disaster on Chronic Disaster’ – The Nation
- Communities Know Best': Climate Solutions in The South Bay Start With Listening – KQED
- A reality-check on Biden’s ‘30 by 30’ conservation plan – High Country News
- War of Words Over New Mexico’s Oil Fields – Capital & Main
- US cities are suffocating in the heat. Now they want retribution – The Guardian
- How did a small town in Canada become one of the hottest places on Earth? – The Guardian
What I continue to find disconcerting is that the many United Methodist newsletters of special interest consistently fail to lift up the climate crisis as the greatest threat to both the church and the world. This reality makes me doubly grateful for the witness of publications such as “Faith in Action” from the General Board of Church and Society, UM Creation Justice Movement’s monthly newsletter by Crys Zinkiewicz, and United Methodist Women's monthly emails and virtual gatherings. Yes, United Methodism’s church-wide boards and agencies commendably have committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2035, but what are we doing to help local congregations come to terms with their own climate crisis challenges? How long will we allow our preoccupation with our internal struggles blind us to the call to change our lifestyles to protect God's precious creation?
If hot temperatures, hurricanes, and other weather extremes seem far removed from your congregation, think in practical terms about what insuring your buildings against climate extremes might cost. What if more plagues like coronavirus, which is linked to the climate crisis as well, decimated your membership? Undoubtedly these issues are terrible to contemplate. Yet don’t we betray our baptismal vows if don’t summon the courage to face these evils head-on?
The struggle to return amid COVID-19
For many United Methodist congregations, this is a summer of struggle – wrestling with whether to resume in-person gatherings, and if so, how to go about it with care for the most vulnerable. The coronavirus pandemic has been a long slog over the past 16 months, but despite tremendous gains in U.S. vaccinations the rest of the world still reels from the virus, as in Brazil where patients are dying by suicide rather than face the disease’s ravages any longer. The Associated Press reports that Japan is set to declare a health emergency around Tokyo, fearing that letting spectators into the 2021 Olympics will lead to a coronavirus surge. Closer to home, the Houston Chronicle reports: More than 125 people who attended Texas church camp test positive for COVID-19
Statistics from the World Health Organization remain grim:
“Globally, as of 11:54am CEST, 8 July 2021, there have been 184,572,371 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 3,997,640 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 7 July 2021, a total of 3,032,056,355 vaccine doses have been administered.”
Think of it: 184 MILLION confirmed cases of COVID-19, with nearly 4 MILLION deaths. And while WHO reports some 3 billion vaccine doses administered, there are tremendous gaps in coverage, especially among communities of color and in economically poor countries. As The Conversation reports this week on Insight, vaccine hesitancy is much more complicated than some news reports make it, often touching on economic disparities and histories of medical abuse against Black, Indigenous and Latinx communities. Some families simply can’t risk losing income to possible vaccination reactions, because they have no safety net to help them in such cases – not even churches.
Further complicating the situation for churches is the reality that COVID-19 vaccines can’t be given to youngsters under the age of 12. The threat to young disciples represents the greatest worry for families and congregations: for all our eagerness to resume in-person services, who among us would reasonably risk our precious children to this pernicious virus, especially now that its new Delta variant that has proven so infectious?
“Do No Harm” has never been more urgent than in this time of transition. If the past 16 months has taught us anything, we have learned again how fragile human life is, and how badly we take it for granted, especially those of us privileged to have health care access and financial resources to protect ourselves against the worldwide pandemic. We long to return to a “normal” that represents safety and stability, but that “normal” no longer exists. We must fashion a new “normal” that balances our own spiritual comfort of in-person community with the precautions that bring health care justice to our most vulnerable families, friends and visitors. It’s agonizing for congregational decision-makers; the rest of us can make the greatest contribution by appreciating the complexities and giving our leaders generous support and understanding.
Media Mentions as of July 8, 2021
A horn-wearing ‘shaman.’ A cowboy evangelist. For some, the Capitol attack was a kind of Christian revolt – The Washington Post*
Supreme Court sides with Amish who argued septic systems violate their religious beliefs – USA Today*
Presbyterian Church in America leaders say those who identify as gay are not qualified for ordination – Religion News Service
Hobby Lobby advocates for a Christian-run government in Independence Day ads placed in many national newspapers – Business Insider*
LGBTQ youth of faith pray, bond at ‘Beloved Arise’ group – The Associated Press
Major Catholic newspaper divests from fossil fuels – Religion News Service
Girl’s prayer at collapse site leads to meeting with Biden – The Associated Press
LGBTQ+ Christians speak of “bittersweet pride” at Methodist Church's historic decision to allow ...– Cambridgeshire Live
AME General Conference debate on same-sex marriage continues after bill is voted down – Religion News Service
Judge says the Air Force is mostly responsible for a 2017 Texas church shooting – NPR
The vortex of White evangelicalism – The Atlantic *
A Biblical case for compassionate border policy – Real Clear Religion
*Paid subscription required.
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.