Climate Change - by Revd Charmaine

Climate Change : A Christian Perspective
By Rev. Charmaine Braatvedt
Family Service
Sunday 1st June, 2008

Matthew 7: 21 – 29 Genesis 6:9 – 22; 7:24; 8: 14 -19 Psalm 46

One cannot read passages from Genesis and from Matthew without sensing some contextual irony.

Hurricane Katrina, Mynmar and the rest are chilling reminders of the damage water can do to the lives of human beings and while we depend on water for life we can also be destroyed by it when we are deluged by it.

How do we read the Biblical text in the light of tsunamis, hurricanes and the realities of global warming in modern time?

In the great flood story we learn that God promised never again to destroy the world by flood. 3000 years later humanity is threatening to do it for him as we face the crisis of global warming and take responsibility for our part in exacerbating this enormous problem.

Show the clip God is Green on Global warming and climate change by Mark Dowd.

Historically Christians have been rather quiet on the topic of Global warming but now we find that churches world-wide are becoming increasingly concerned about climate change and are advocating for the changes in life style needed to address it with justice and equity.

The World Council of Churches has taken the lead in this process. Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians and Anglicans alike have all stepped forward to encourage their congregations to study the issue and to take appropriate steps within their own lives and as communities to voice their concerns to the powers that be that the threat of global warming is taken seriously and steps be taken to address the problem.

At Synod last year our own Bishop John chaired a lengthy discussion on the issue of climate change and global warming and as a diocese we committed ourselves to stand up and be counted as ones who would do all in our power to work towards a carbon neutral world and to be a people that lived sustainably.

Within the world wide Anglican Community Archbishop Rowan Williams has been very outspoken on the matter of climate change. He has called for deep cuts in carbon emissions on the basis of contraction and convergence. By this he means aiming at equal per capita emissions world wide. Clearly this would mean huge reductions for the rich countries.

Even the evangelical churches of America seem to be voicing concern about this problem. I read recently that Rick Warren and a number of other evangelical leaders have come forward and formed the Evangelical Climate Initiative and signed a statement saying “human induced climate change is real and calling on the Bush/ US government to urgently pass legislation establishing limits on carbon dioxide emissions which are widely believed to be the primary cause of human induced global warming. The statement goes on to say

“Christians must care about climate change because we love God the Creator and Jesus our Lord through whom and for whom the creation was made. This is God’s world and any damage that we do to God’s world is an offence against God himself.”

The slogan “What would Jesus Drive?” has come out of this grouping.

There can be no doubt that the environmental crisis is a Christian issue.

What exactly is global warming?

Use the analogy of the blankets

So it is that unless we do something to reduce our green house gas emissions we will find ourselves in trouble with a capital T.

It is predicted that the sea level will rise by half a metre before the end of the century and this is particularly bad news for places like Bangladesh, East Anglia and the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

Not only that, but as the earth heats up there will be increased evaporation and condensation with the ensuing floods and droughts on unprecedented levels.

Also increased turbulence in the atmosphere as the heat is released from vaporization causing winds and storms.

The outcome of all this is that many people will become displaced.

There will be shortages of food as crops like wheat become less viable in areas where wheat is grown today.

Social unrest and conflict will be inevitable and yet again it will be the poor that will be most affected.

I recently came across the Analogy of the space craft going to Mars and the earth as a spacecraft orbiting around the sun.

The Bible makes it clear from the outset in the book of Genesis that God expects human beings to take care of the earth.

The Gospel parable reminds us of the need to build our lives on the firm foundations of God’s way which is to be life giving and life sustaining in all we do. Building our lives in exploitative ways that are life diminishing will only lead to decay and destruction for all.

So it is with the environment which God has so graciously created for us.

I gather that much damage has already been done and it is clear that some scientists believe that we are past the point of no return. All agree that damage done will take 40 years to play out whatever we do but as stewards of God’s creation we do need to take responsibility for trying to right the terrible wrongs humanity’s greed and carelessness with the environment has caused since the time of the industrial revolution to date.

Our Biblical text tells us that God is deeply offended by social injustice.

When we read Jesus’ injunction that we must love our neighbour we have to understand that our neighbour is more than just the person living next door to us.

In science the term neighbour refers not necessarily to two objects placed next to each other but rather when they have an affect on one another.

Who is my neighbour? Neighbours extend throughout the world. WE cannot say anyone or anything is not a neighbour we are all interdependent. When we consider that the greed and thoughtlessness of the first world is causing devastation to the lives of the third world we also understand that our neighbour in the true sense of the word is anyone who has and is being affected by this greed and thoughtlessness.

The carbon and methane emissions of the first world are causing climatic changes which are bringing misery to many parts of the third world.

So, there is clearly a need to lead lives that are sustainable and that will secure a future for generations to come.

How then should we live?

What on earth can we do?

PRAY

Pray for greater awareness of God’s deep concern for creation and of our own impact on the environment.

As we give thanks let us continue to give thanks for the environment and as we make our confession let us not forget to include the sin of being careless and wasteful with the world’s resources.

Let us pray for those who eke out a living on already damaged and marginal land and whose lives and homes are threatened by rising sea levels and severe climate events.

Let us pray for insight and wisdom to be more faithful in nurturing and managing God’s creation and in reviewing our resource consumption.

Let us pray for the will and determination to take practical steps despite distractions and discouragement.

ACT PERSONALLY

Work out your personal carbon footprint

Go to www.mfe.govt.nz/withyou/do/footprint and click on ‘personal’. You’ll need to know or work out some basic figures about your use of public and private transport, your diet, health costs, what you spent on household goods and energy. We urge you to do this exercise. You will probably have some surprises. When you know exactly what your energy usage, etc, is, you will be in a much better position to decide what life style changes to make.

This personal ecological footprint calculator has been developed for New Zealand conditions. The calculator uses the answers to a series of questions about a person’s income, household composition, consumption and lifestyle patterns to calculate the size of that person’s ecological footprint, i.e. how much land is required to support that person’s lifestyle.

Just as a matter of interest, how many people have made any life style changes subsequent to Rob Hays’ talk a couple of months ago?

Here are some things that you can do to reduce your carbon footprint:

§ Change your light bulbs to energy saving bulbs.

§ Make sure your hot water cylinder is lagged and the thermostat is set to 60°C or lower.

§ Wash your clothes in cold or warm water. Air dry your washing on a clothes line.

§ When buying electrical appliances make their energy efficiency a high priority.

§ Ensure your home is adequately insulated.

§ If you have air conditioning, run it at the minimum comfortable temperature.

§ When making a hot drink boil only the amount needed.

§ Turn off electronic devices when they are not in use. They can use a considerable amount of electricity when they are sitting idle but on standby.

§ Recycle as much as you can. Compost kitchen waste to return goodness to the soil. Recycling just half the waste of an average household will save more than 1000kg of CO₂ per year.

§ Avoid buying brands which have wasteful packaging.

§ Find out about your electricity supplier. What proportion of their capacity is from renewable sources? If you think they are too dependent on fossil fuels change to a supplier with a better record.

§ Drive less. Walk, cycle, car pool and use public transport whenever you can.

§ Keep your car properly tuned, with its tyres at the recommended pressure. Under-inflated tyres may be costing you as much as 3% extra for fuel.

§ When changing your car look seriously at hybrid cars, a smaller car, and energy efficient small diesel cars, etc.

§ If you have investments re-examine them in the light of climate change. Try to invest with companies known to be ethical in their use of environmental resources – those that have adopted ‘triple-bottom-line’ reporting. Have a look at the website of the Council for Socially Responsible Investment (CSRI). They have information and guidelines for investments.

§ For further ideas on improving energy efficiency at home go to: www.energywise.org.nz/

The key words are

Turn down temperatures in the home

Switch off e.g. appliances

Recycle e.g. waste

Walk whenever you can

Change something about your lifestyle. In this election year politicians are open to hearing from you more so than any other time. Write letters speak out and lobby your MP; local community authorities and the government to support changes both nationally and internationally.

Movie called In the Shadow of the Moon. One of the astronauts who went to the moon commented on how fragile the earth seemed from space.

Global warming is going to affect millions in this century, and this makes it a social justice issue because at the end of the day it is the poor who feel the brunt of famine or flooding that comes from human induced climate changes. The Church of Jesus Christ cannot just stand by; we have to at least attempt to do something about it. The earth is fragile and vulnerable.

As Christians let us take up our responsibilities as stewards of God’s creation as individuals, as a faith community and as a nation.

We can make a difference and I believe that as Church we all ought to be setting an example.

Family Service Outline:

-Show video clip

-What is Climate change? Use blankets.

-Sustainable lifestyle Use Rocket Analogy

-Why should the church care? Parable of wise and foolish men.

3.Pray