United Methodists Engage in Multiple Climate Actions

Crisis Watch Aug. 25, 2021

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A United Methodist Insight Column

This week has seen a basketful of information and action on the climate crisis useful to United Methodists caring for God’s creation.

First up, there’s still time to join UMC Creation Justice Movement, United Methodist Women and other activists for a big day of climate action on Friday, Aug. 27.

Elizabeth Chun Hye (Liz) Lee, UMW’s executive for economic and environmental justice, said the activists will urge Congress to make climate justice a priority in the infrastructure package. Participants will receive:  

  • A call and email script to contact members of Congress anytime on Aug. 27.  
  • A toolkit to engage with members of Congress over social media 
  • An invitation to join us for the "Act for Creation, Act for Justice Launch Event" starting at noon ET on Aug. 27th featuring prominent speakers and advocacy training.

Register to participate virtually 

Meanwhile, the Western North Carolina Conference plans to highlight creation care ministry on three Tuesdays in September, 12-1 p.m. during the global Season of Creation observance. The conference says clergy members will learn from the Rev. Jonathan Brake, an ordained elder serving Mount Pleasant UMC (Sherrills Ford), and Kim Richmond, a lay member and organizer of Creation Care Ministry at Maple Springs UMC (Winston Salem), as they discuss The Mission of Creation Care and Creation Justice in the WNCC. These conversations will take place via Zoom on three consecutive Tuesdays during the Season of Creation – Sept. 14, 21, and 28. On Sept. 14, the topic will be “What Is the Problem?”, on Sept. 21, “Why Should We Care”? and on Sept. 28, “What Can We Do?”

Help Tennessee flood victims

The Aug. 21 flash flood in Waverly, Tenn., carved a path of destruction that so far has killed 22 people, including 7-month-old twins. Tennessee Conference Bishop William McAlilly in his blog recommends that donating money to relief efforts is the best way to help flood victims. Read story. Donate to Tennessee Conference disaster response.

Climate change education for churches

There are plenty of newsletters and journals to help congregations, Sunday school classes and small groups stay abreast of the latest developments in rescuing the Earth from the effects of human-caused climate change. For example, National Geographic publishes a well-balanced newsletter, Planet Possible, which this week focused on “dismantling fences to help wildlife, and what you should know about climate change.”

NatGeo’s Robert Kunzig, ENVIRONMENT Executive Editor, commented on this week’s events such as massive flooding in Tennessee and Hurricane Henri in the Northeast: “The 21st-century road back to a stable climate will be long, as was the road back from almost unimaginable global destruction in the 20th century. Even on the 2-degree or 1.5-degree routes, there will be many more news seasons like this one. But if we can manage to see them as grievously hard bits of road, rather than harbingers of the apocalypse, we’ll be more likely to get home.”

Similarly, ProPublica, a news organization that describes itself as “devoted to investigative journalism in the public interest,” went looking for some of the hottest places in California and discovered climate injustice went hand-in-hand with climate change. Elizabeth Weil’s article, “We Looked for Some of the Hottest Places in California. We Found Climate Injustice in a Nutshell,” documents how the most economically disadvantaged people, often communities of color, tend to live in places where climate change has the greatest impact because the cost of housing is less expensive. In contrast, rich people can afford to move away from vulnerable areas and insulate themselves from climate change effects.

One of my favorite magazines, Texas Monthly, has a great story, “Behind the Fight to Save the Gulf’s Spectacular Coral Reefs,” about efforts to expand and save Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. Geologists, marine biologists, and climatologists all tell us that Earth’s health and sustainability are dependent on the health of its oceans, so every effort to maintain wonders under the waves deserves our attention and support. A paid subscription is required to access the article, but it’s worth the price.

One of the most stunning climate features this week is NPR’s “United States of Wildfire,” an eye-opening report on how wildfire was once a key element of American ecology, and how today’s intersection of urban and wild areas pose a new threat from wildfires in unlikely places such as New England. I was amazed at how America is indeed a “continent of fire,” and how humans proximity to wild places both disrupts and threatens the environment that sustains us.

Another vital resource for Insight, Covering Climate Now newsletter this week poses a question that’s relevant for churches as well as journalists: “What’s at stake?” when the global climate conference, COP26, meets in November in Glasgow, Scotland. People of faith, including United Methodists, will attend COP26 to bring faith perspectives to bear on public policy. Helping church members and communities better understand the consequences of the unchecked climate crisis holds promise that grassroots activism will spark genuine, beneficial change. That’s the reasoning behind this Friday’s effort to contact federal representatives to urge emphasizing climate responses in the infrastructure package now before Congress.

These reports and many others make clear to us that as stewards of God’s creation, we must recognize that now really is “code red” for saving the Earth and that we’re called to respond.

Climate Central a source for graphics

Climate Central provides excellent royalty-free graphics useful for Sunday school classes, small group discussions and other climate care activities. Being a devoted “doggy Mom,” I was especially impressed by its latest infographics on how pets are affected by extreme heat.

Climate Central describes itself as “an independent organization of leading scientists and journalists researching and reporting the facts about our changing climate and its impact on the public.” It’s chock-full of fascinating reports from qualified experts that churches can rely on when making climate-related presentations.

Another Climate Central resource, the Coastal Risk Screening Tool, identifies land areas where “a water level of 3.4 feet above the high tide line could be reached through combinations of sea level rise, tides, and storm surge,” as the site says. The tool put me in mind of a new film, “Reminscence,” a kind of detective thriller in a climate-change setting, that debuted on HBO Max this week. The setting puts Miami and New Orleans significantly under water from sea level rise, and the plot is shaped by how people devolve in a society transformed by climate change. I can’t give away any more details without revealing spoilers, except to say that Australian heartthrob Hugh Jackman (AKA Wolverine from the “X-Men” series) makes a terrific protagonist. It has its share of violence, but the violence is consistent with the plot, not gratuitous. Worth a look.

Building better buildings

Canary Media, a recent entry in the world of climate change news outlets, reported Aug. 24 that current technology provides ample ways to reduce the “carbon-embodied” state of buildings. Jeff St. John writes:

“Buildings are massive sources of what is termed ‘embodied carbon’ — the carbon emissions that come from making the cement, concrete, steel girders, rebar, insulation, glazing and finishing materials used in buildings ranging from single-family homes to skyscrapers. Taken as a whole, this embodied carbon accounts for between one-tenth to nearly one-quarter of the world’s carbon emissions, depending on how it’s measured. That makes it a key target for reduction to combat climate change.

“But low-cost ways to cut buildings’ carbon footprint are already available to U.S. architects, contractors and construction materials suppliers, according to a new report from think tank RMI and global construction firm Skanska. (Canary Media is an independent subsidiary of RMI.)

“In fact, according to the report's case studies, deploying methods to make use of materials and standards that are already in place today could shave between a quarter to nearly half the typical building’s embodied carbon at little more than 1 percent extra cost, compared to business-as-usual approaches.”

If your church is looking to construct new buildings, or you’re looking at ways to renovate, this report could provide helpful guidelines.

Media Mentions as of August 25, 2021

Proud Boys leader Henry 'Enrique' Tarrio sentenced to five months in jail - The Washington Post

American University chaplain surrenders clergy credentials after allegations of sexual misconduct – America Magazine

Many churches still struggling over LGBTQ+ issues - The Herald-Times

Blowhard blows a fuse over US pick for Swiss ambassador | Barry Duke - Patheos

Historic Edgewater church for sale; neighbors worry about what will come next - Chicago Sun-Times

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011. "Crisis Watch" is part of Insight's participation in Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of some 400 news outlets committed to enhance reporting on the worldwide climate crisis.