By Rev. Dr. Deb Shepherd-Webster (First UMC of Pasadena) and Rev. Ben Camp (Chair of the Cal-Pac Eco-Justice Task Force)
With all of the things that we have been seeing on the news, we followers of Jesus Christ might sometimes ask exactly what kind of action we might be able to take. That is why First United Methodist Church of Pasadena and the Cal-Pac Eco-Justice Task Force is teaming up to bring together both top climate scientists and motivated church leaders to the three-day “Sparking a Climate Revolution” workshop at Camp Sky Meadows on October 26 – 28, 2018, open to all who are interested and wanting to make a difference.
What We Know: Humans are influencing the climate. As we burn fossil fuel to run our cars, heat our homes, power our computers and phones, and wrap our food in plastics, we pump Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere and the temperature of the Earth increases. This stresses all aspects of creation, human and non-human, on land and in the ocean; and it is getting worse. But, we also know that God calls each and every one of us to care for creation and to love our neighbors and our children, even when those children are yet unborn. Our current ecological crisis is a big problem, too big for us to solve by ourselves. But it is not impossible! And one thing is for sure: if we don’t take that first step, it will never happen.
What We Wish: Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Faith is taking the first step even though you don’t see the whole staircase.” We wish to join together, take this step in Christ-like response and become more than we can individually. We wish to join with Christians across the globe, leading our communities to mobilize a faith-based response to climate change as we follow Christ’s call on our hearts.
What We Need: We need people who still have a spark of hope that something can be done to turn the tide of climate change and who care deeply about the suffering of those who are poor and marginalized, those who will suffer most from the drought, flooding and chaos that rapid climate change brings. We need people who recycle and try to buy less but wonder how we can possibly make a difference when we are just one person. We need people who are passionate about helping to turn the tide of global warming!
The time is now to step into God’s current of Transforming the World!
