environmental

MASSACHUSETTS COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

PRESS RELEASE

September 24, 2009

My name is Jack Johnson and I serve as the executive director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches. The Council membership includes seventeen Christian denominations here in the Commonwealth composed of Protestant and Orthodox communions. We too work in partnership with the four Roman Catholic Dioceses here in the Commonwealth, as well as interfaith partnership with Jewish and Muslim faith communities.

One might argue that of all the issues faith communities seek to address, nothing is more important than the issue of climate control. Scientists, Environmentalists, educators, and public elected officials, remind us what is at stake is the very issue of the survival of our planet as we know it over this next century. Surely it is an issue if not addressed all other issues in our 21^st century may ultimately be irrelevant.

While the climate change debate has tended to be dominated by the language of science, and those who most prominently address this issue are environmentalist, we need to be reminded that for most of us, the fate of the planet as a result of global warming is really a moral issue. Climate change is ultimately about what it means for people, especially children, and the whole creation. From a Christian perspective, inaction on climate change involves a failure to follow Christ’s command to ‘love one another”, with a particular responsibility on those of us who are the most extravagant users of the earth’s resources. Clearly the issue of climate change is linked to the larger questions of social justice, international conflict, and peace.

Our sacred scriptures call us to serve and protect God’s creation. Because the sky, the animals, and the trees cannot speak for themselves, and because the future generations are ignored in most of our decision making, (wouldn’t it be something if the political community was more concerned about climate changes impact on future generations than the national debt impact on future generations), and because the poor are the ones most seriously affected by environmental degradation, we as persons of faith are charged with the care of God’s Creation.

For the religious community it is a moral issue grounded in our sacred theology that affirms that the care of God’s creation has been entrusted to us. We have not been doing such a good job.

Some thirty years ago, the Council’s called upon citizens of our Commonwealth to communicate “vigorously” to the President and our congressional delegation to support efforts at that time to implement a policy of energy conservation. Today our member denominations have developed a moral and ethical perspective on the responsibility of Christians toward the environment. Clearly the environmental crises, and the issue of climate change, are linked to larger questions of social justice, international conflict, and peace.

The time is now for religious leaders, under the moral imperative as people of faith, to join together in a witness of religious compassion and a call to witness of eco-justice in affirming the care of God’s creation. Our commitment at this moment in time is to engage religious leadership to call upon their faith communities to become engaged in addressing the environmental crisis.

The Council’s churches are now engaged in raising the awareness of congregants throughout the Commonwealth that the time is now to address the issue of climate change. We are seeking to heighten an awareness among the our approximately 1,700 member churches in our Commonwealth that as persons of faith we have a moral imperative to engage our elected leadership, at both the state and federal level, that now is the time to address this issue.

I stand here today, as the Council engages in partnership with the Massachusetts Power Shift in its Leadership Campaign, to call upon our state legislators to be global leaders by adopting a sane energy policy that protects our environment and humanity. Our state legislators have an opportunity to lead the way as the national debate takes place on global warming. Massachusetts can set a standard by adopting legislation that calls for 100% clean energy in ten years in our state. We have the opportunity to adopt this progressive measure that could model for other states, as well as congress, in making an impact on climate change.

The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, minister and president of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ, reminds us that “when Christians learn that our choices threaten the most vulnerable people on earth and all future generations, they will change their behavior and demand that government change everyone’s behavior.

Global warming is a spiritual issue and for people of faith we stand with the Leadership Campaign in, as Antal states, “demanding” of government to change everyone’s behavior. This legislature has this opportunity to stand with us in caring for the creation, a theological belief of faith communities not only in our Council family, but faith communities with a broad spectrum of beliefs throughout the Commonwealth.

Again we will seek to advocate with the Leadership Campaign, providing a moral voice, as it seeks to ask our legislative leadership to accelerate our state’s transition to a clean energy economy, with the goal of obtaining 100% of our electricity from non-carbon sources by the year 2000.