creation transfigured

Climate Change and the Church

A Sermon Delivered at Ss. Peter & Paul Episcopal Church
on Transfiguration Sunday, February 14, 2010


GOOD MORNING!

My name is Larry Shadbolt and I was invited to talk this morning as part of the Interfaith Power and Light “preach-in” at parishes and congregations across the country. Now retired from a career in community planning and public health, I am a member of the Oregon Episcopal Diocese Environmental Commission, and on the joint Steering Committee for Ecumenical Ministry of Oregon’s Interfaith Power and Light, and the Network for Earth Concerns.

I am here today is because I am a grandparent of 3 boys with a granddaughter on the way, and I am, frankly, worried about their future. I believe we are truly at a turning point in world history, and the prospects for human survival are not assured.

Last October, I worked with OIPL, and other community groups to organize a walk and rally in Pioneer Square urging world leaders in Copenhagen to adopt a standard of 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - the level considered the upper “safe” limit by many scientists. We are now at 390 ppm and growing. Here at Ss. Peter and Paul we rang the bell 350 times to join with other churches around the world in sounding the alarm.

Recently I went to a conference in Seattle as a representative of the Interfaith Network for Earth Concerns in Portland. I was inspired by so many bright and committed people across the country from government, industry, NGO’s, labor, and community activists working to address climate change by reducing emissions, finding alternative fuels, and creating more fair and sustainable communities.

Today I bring a story of crisis and hope. First, I need to talk a little about what is at stake and the urgency to take action now. I used to think, like many of my friends and associates, and, perhaps you, that climate change was like a lot of other problems we have faced in our long history - natural, inevitable, and that we could adapt to a world of warmer climate, higher shorelines, fewer animal species and more extreme weather events without profound changes.

But there is a much darker view, based on our understanding of geological history and what climate science tells us. We are making changes to the climate and natural systems that will at some point be irreversible - a point of no return. This view is consistent with a biblical view that God created the universe and we are connected with all that is in it, which understands that man has become alienated from the natural world, in which our worship of false idols results in over-consumption and addiction; and, the inequitable treatment of humans and animals and degradation of the air and water has dire consequences. Eventually these changes, if allowed to continue, will result in catastrophic and irreversible changes to the complex web of life that has formed on this beautiful planet.
How could this come about? The earth has had a relatively stable climate over the past 10,000 years - roughly the same period in which humans have moved from hunting and gathering, to developing agrarian and industrial societies. Increasingly, particularly since the 1850’s, we have become more dependent on ancient carbon deposits in the form of coal, petroleum and natural gas to heat our homes, power our cars, and produce our food. A by-product of this carbon-based economy is the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and oceans where it has been accumulating.

Now we are beginning to witness the effects of these many years of emissions - warmer air temperature, chemical changes in the ocean, melting glaciers, species extinction - these changes now affect humans - native people who live in the arctic, humans who depend on the ocean fisheries for sustenance, and people who grow crops in arid lands. It is important to act soon, because emissions today will cause atmospheric changes for 30 years.

What is the good news? Well, I am told the Chinese symbol for crisis also means opportunity. I think we all have the human gift of awareness - the ability to understand the connection between what we do and its effect in the world. Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, asks us to consider: “How do we live in a way that honours rather than endangers the life of our planet?....how do we live in a way that shows an understanding that we genuinely live in a shared world, not one that simply belongs to us?”

So today we can consider the alternatives to business as usual. Here are some of my thoughts about our opportunity to create a better future for our children and grandchildren:

First, the most important thing we can do right now is pass a national energy bill that moves us away from dependence on foreign oil, creates green jobs, and supports the creation of healthy communities. The House has enacted a bill but the Senate has yet to act. I ask you to consider calling your legislator or sending your legislator a card (postcards are in the back) to tell them you support legislation curbing greenhouse gases and creating new jobs.

Second, our parish can continue to support and expand our national church’s commitment to the Genesis Covenant, originally proposed by Bishop Steve Charleston to reduce greenhouse gas omissions by 50% by the year 2020, and approved by our Oregon convention and national church - a goal which we are well on our way to achieving here at Ss. P&P thanks to the good work of Steve Hiscoe and Father Kurt, with help from OIPL and the Environmental Commission. We have a “greening” committee here at Ss. P&P, and we can continue the work we have begun here. We can look at how our parish, located at the intersection of both low and high end commerce, residential neighborhoods, and regional transportation can play a more significant role as the neighborhood changes to meet the challenges of the future - over the next 20 years we will have major growth in Portland due to migration to the Pacific Northwest. I suggest our parish become more actively involved in neighborhood affairs - such as the farmers market and the neighborhood association - which would generate interest by the neighborhood in Ss. P&P as a place of value in the community, as well as help us better understand our role in a changing world.

Most importantly, we can deepen our commitment within our faith community and other faith traditions to bring a “change of heart”, working together to heal the damage we have done to the earth and human communities. In the Gospel reading today, we are told of the Transfiguration of Christ. Again the words of Archbishop Williams: “The Christian story lays out a model of reconnection with an alienated world: it tells us of a material human life inhabited by God and raised transfigured from death; of a sharing of material food which makes us sharers in eternal life, of a community whose life together seeks to express within creation the care of the creator. In the words used by both Moses and St. Paul, this is not a message remote from us in heaven or buried under the earth: it is near, on our lips and hearts. And, as Moses immediately goes on to say in the Old Testament passage, ‘You know it and can quote it, so now obey it. Today I am giving you a choice between good and evil, between life and death…Choose life.’”

We are asked by our Creator to be stewards of the earth and care for creation. I believe that the faith community has yet to fulfill our calling in this area. With an understanding of the sacredness of life, and our commitment to social justice, we have the foundation for a deep, moral, engagement with the issue of climate change as we become more connected with the natural world. The time for “full engagement” is now.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I am happy to talk with anyone about this work.