Today in the Mission Yearbook - Trees of life: What can one person do to combat climate change? Ask Mama Toya
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Today in the Mission Yearbook - Trees of life
Today in the Mission Yearbook - Trees of life: What can one person do to combat climate change? Ask Mama Toya
Presbyterians Protecting Life - Uncomfortable? Perhaps it is time for harvest.
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Green Faith - Join us on Thursday
It’s been such a joy to see so many of you in our beloved GreenFaith community come out last week for Earth Day - and all online!
If you missed the live-streamed Interfaith Call for Care and Resilience, there’s still time to watch.
During the Interfaith Call, we heard movingly from Benki Piyako, a leader of the Ashaninka tribe in the Amazonian state of Acre opposing destructive development. We also listened to so many other faith leaders who were speaking about the intersection of climate change and the global crisis that we are finding ourselves in today.
If you participated in one of the dozens of local Circles of Care and Resilience that held online Pray-Ins to nourish each other, take action to protect each other, and fight against injustice: Thank you.
We have a wrap-up of all of the actions on the blog, including a Pray-In at BlackRock, the global financial firm heavily invested in fossil fuels.
This week, we are resuming our regular weekly Faith Community Calls for Care and Resilience.
We will be led by Dharma leader Kristin Barker for the spiritual reflection. Kristin is the co-founder and director of One Earth Sangha whose mission is to inspire and sustain transformational response to ecological crises.
Please join us on Thursday, at 11 am OR 4 pm / 16:00 New York Time (find your local time here).
As people of faith and spirit, we are building a world rooted in love, justice and compassion for everyone in our human family. Right here. And right now.
Come by yourself, or bring your friends and family. We are finding peace within, and connection with each other. Practicing care and resilience in this time of crisis. We hope to see you on Thursday.
In Faith,
Rev. Fletcher Harper
Executive Director, GreenFaith
P.S. We know that these are unprecedented times but we also know that our work of building a loving, just, and compassionate world is more urgent than ever before.
101 South Third Avenue, #12, Highland Park, NJ, USA 08904
732-565-7740 (Phone)
WCC NEWS: WCC acting general secretary reflects on open letter from Kairos Europa about Wuppertal Declaration on socio-ecological transformation
Following is the response of World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca to an open letter to the global ecumenical community on the Wuppertal Declaration, a conference message released in June 2019, when representatives from numerous countries and different denominational and faith traditions gathered in Wuppertal, Germany, to discuss the profound global ecological crisis.What was the general reaction when the WCC, along with many others in the ecumenical movement, received this letter?
Rev. Dr Sauca: The WCC is a fellowship of churches and we welcome all forms of dialogue. The WCC considers the Wuppertal Declaration as an important conference message. It is the outcome of an initiative led by a WCC member church and ecumenical partner in Germany on June 2019, with broad representation following an international ecumenical conference focusing on issues of eco-theology, ethics of sustainability and eco-friendly churches. The WCC was one of the co-organisers of the meeting and was represented in the gathering. Even if the Declaration does explicitly link the climate crisis to human greed, expressing more clearly the key role of the broken world economic order in producing and aggravating the ecological crisis, it remains a powerful voice for global action with specific suggestions that can be followed up and deepened.
As the main expression of the global ecumenical movement, the WCC operates in a wide range of contexts marked by diversity of identities, priorities and points of view. What holds the WCC together institutionally, also in terms of what the fellowship declares publicly, is the common voice that grows from our governing bodies, which, in many ways represents and streamlines that diversity and constantly seeks to reach consensus in a constructive and prophetic way. In this sense, it is important to highlight that the WCC Central Committee, Executive Committee and the general secretariat have been constantly affirming that economic and ecologic justice can never be separated.
How did you react to the criticism of the Wuppertal Call in the letter?
Rev. Dr Sauca: The open letter is not a criticism of WCC, but a critical look at the Wuppertal Declaration. It is a constructive criticism of the Wuppertal Declaration and will hopefully lead to deeper discussions and analyses. We always welcome dialogue and deeper reflection.
How will the WCC respond to the open letter?
Rev. Dr Sauca: Since the letter was not directed in particular to the WCC, we do not see the need to respond with another letter. We see our role in convening and bringing people with different opinions and perspectives around the table, to dialogue. As one of the co-organisers of the Wuppertal conference, we would like to reiterate the aforementioned affirmations and sharing key WCC statements that challenge the false dichotomy between economy and ecology and hold together justice and sustainability (as one cannot be achieved without the other). Both the Wuppertal Declaration and the open letter are very relevant and valuable inputs to the ecumenical movement to ensure that ecological justice will be addressed in a holistic manner, in the context of economic justice. We see that one of the roles of the WCC in this scenario is to work as the convener of such dialogue. It is only by working together that we can jointly ensure that the ecumenical movement will get the benefit of united and holistic responses to the existential challenges that humanity and creation face today. As the WCC fellowship is preparing for the 11th WCC Assembly to be held in Karlsruhe in September 2021, we look forward to having these issues discussed and further analyzed in ecumenical conversations at the assembly.
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 350 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway.
Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press
Our visiting address is:
World Council of Churches
150 route de Ferney
Geneve 2 1211
Switzerland
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Answering God’s call to work with refugees in Greece
Answering God’s call to work with refugees in Greece: Mission co-worker Nadia Ayoub sees light in the darkness by Kathy Melvin | Presbyterian News Service Before physical distancing, Nad...
Unbound: Voter Suppression and COVID-19
As the 2020 Presidential election quickly approaches, it is more critical than ever that we take action to reclaim the values and promise of our electoral process. Since a 2013 Supreme Court ruling gutted the Voting Rights Act, voter suppression has been on the rise and has denied voting rights to millions, people of color in particular. The impacts of COVID-19 will further exacerbate voter suppression. The election in November is one of the most important elections in U.S. history. We must address historic issues of voter suppression and systemic racism so that all people are able to exercise their right to vote.
The 15th amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits federal, state, and local governments from denying someone the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.[i] This amendment, passed in 1870, sought to grant African American men the right to vote and paved the way for the 19th Amendment, passed in 1920. However, states found a way around the 15th amendment using literacy tests, poll taxes, moral character tests, and grandfather clauses. When combined with overtly illegal efforts of white Americans, such as threats of violence, beatings and lynchings, and the loss of property and jobs, these measures kept many Black Americans off the voting rolls.
It was not until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that many Black Americans were able to register to vote and participate in the democratic process. The Voting Rights Act provided federal enforcement of voting rights and created mechanisms for oversight. This was a pivotal step towards equality for Black Americans. However, this victory was always contested and its gains virtually halted.
On June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which identified which states and counties were subject to a preclearance requirement based on their historical use of suppressive tactics, was unconstitutional.[ii] The preclearance requirement mandated jurisdictions with a history of voter suppression to seek preapproval from the Department of Justice before changing voting laws. Removing the preclearance requirement took away the federal government’s capacity for enforcement and oversight, leaving millions of citizens of color vulnerable to voter suppression. The General Assembly analyzes and calls for reversing the 2013 ruling in its 2016 resolution, Election Protection and Integrity in Campaign Finance.
Since this ruling, many states have passed extremely restrictive voting laws. Among these are restrictive voter ID requirements, voter purges, proof of citizenship, restrictions on voter registration, and unduly limiting early and absentee voting opportunities. Many of these tactics were used in the 2018 Georgia mid-term election, a historical election where Stacey Abrams sought to become the first Black female governor in the United States. Efforts of voter suppression and disenfranchisement will likely get stronger as the effects of Coronavirus continues to spread and disproportionately impact people of color. The Wisconsin primary election on April 7this an example of how the pandemic endangers voting rights.
On April 6th, amid the Coronavirus pandemic, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled to continue with primary and general elections on April 7th and not extend the state’s absentee ballot deadline. [iii] The conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court backed them up. As a result, in Milwaukee, only five polling locations were open, a massive decline from the 180 polling locations the city provided in 2016.[iv] Because of the limited number of polling locations, many people were not able to vote in person. Those who did vote in person stood in long lines, which posed a health and safety risk because of Coronavirus. According to Milwaukee Health Department, Milwaukee is a hotspot where Black Americans are infected and dying of COVID-19 accounting for about 50 percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases and at least 81 percent of the fatalities.[v] The reality of higher exposure and death rates, coupled with extremely long lines at the few polling locations placed Black voters at disproportionate risks when voting in person. Once again, Black Americans were forced to choose between their lives or exercising their constitutional right to vote.
In 2008, in the policy, Lift Every Voice, the 218th PC(U.S.A.) General Assembly affirmed that “to deny anyone a fair vote is a sin.”[vi] Going further, to deny equitable and safe access to voting is a sin and fundamentally goes against our Reformed Christian belief. Every person has inherent worth and value and deserves an equal voice in our democratic system. As people of faith, it is our collective call and responsibility to fight against structures of oppression and systemic racism. Scare tactics related to Covid are likely to increase, along with other forms of gerrymandering by public health neglect and opposition to universal mail-in voting. We must work to end voter suppression and to ensure equitable access to voting for all.
[i] https://guides.loc.gov/15th-amendment
[ii] https://www.oyez.org/cases/2012/12-96
[iii] https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/491445-wisconsin-supreme-court-blocks-governors-effort-to-delay-election?rnd=1586211380?userid=377283
[iv] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/us/politics/wisconsin-primary-election.html
[v] https://city.milwaukee.gov/Coronavirus#.XqMDo0BFwlw
[vi]https://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/_resolutions/acswp_voting_rights.pdf
[ii] https://www.oyez.org/cases/2012/12-96
[iii] https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/491445-wisconsin-supreme-court-blocks-governors-effort-to-delay-election?rnd=1586211380?userid=377283
[iv] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/us/politics/wisconsin-primary-election.html
[v] https://city.milwaukee.gov/Coronavirus#.XqMDo0BFwlw
[vi]https://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/_resolutions/acswp_voting_rights.pdf
Christian Brooks serves as the Representative for Domestic Issues for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Office of Public Witness. Her responsibilities include education and advocacy around domestic issues of concern for the church including voting rights, racial equity, and environmental justice issues. Before joining the Office of Public Witness, Christian did extensive work on issues of racial equity and food security. She served as the Racial Equity Policy Fellow for Bread for the World Institute where she assisted with writing a research paper on racial equity in federal nutrition programs. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Pittsburgh, a Master of Divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Today in the Mission Yearbook - Presbyterian Church of Kabuga transforms schools
Green Faith - We are coming together as people of faith.
This week, in honor of Earth Day, thousands of us in the GreenFaith community came together online.
I hope you were able to feel the connection we have with each other, even as we can’t physically meet.
Were you able to join in the globally live-streamed Interfaith Call for Care and Resilience? Or maybe you participated in one of the dozens of local Circles of Care and Resilience that held online Pray-Ins to nourish each other, take action to protect each other, and fight against injustice?
There were Pray-Ins from Australia to Puerto Rico to Uganda--moving, meaningful, and spirited. GreenFaith member Madeline from Rhode Island, United States, described how her group shared how “important it is to stay connected, to show care and resilience for each other in good times and in bad. They are living examples of God’s love for us as they join with the younger generation to continue to envision and work for a world where all can live in harmony with the earth.”
We know that these are unprecedented times but we also know that our work of building a loving, just, and compassionate world is more urgent than ever before.
Benki Piyako, a leader of the Ashaninka tribe, an indigenous community in the Amazonian state of Acre opposing destructive development, said during the InterFaith Call for Care and Resilience:
“We are seeing how the earth is being destroyed….we as human beings are going through a calling, and it should be heard by each and every one who lives on this earth. I believe this calling is here for us to reflect, and we have to start now.”
Swami Dayananda, a senior Hindu monk at Yogaville ashram in the US state of Virginia, who has organized a multi-faith, multi-racial coalition in opposition to a proposed major fossil fuel pipeline, said this:
“We came together to focus on environmental justice issues, building an unlikely alliance between Baptists and Yogis. We found the very universal common value that all faiths share: Love for one another, for creation, for our families, and the environment. We are all one, in the spiritual oneness of all. Our togetherness will never be broken.”
This is the time to bring our vision to life: A world in which we are connected to each other and with all of nature; a world filled with joy instead of despair; and a world of justly distributed power instead of privilege. We, as people of faith spirit, are called to work with greater urgency than ever.
Thank you for being part of this wonderful, global, diverse, passionate, and committed GreenFaith community this week of Earth Day and every day. Thank you so much for your support, and we pray that you are safe.
In Faith,
Rev. Fletcher Harper
Executive Director, GreenFaith
P.S. We will be resuming the weekly Faith Community Calls for Care and Resilience this Thursday afternoon at 11 am and 4 pm New York time. We hope you can join us for spiritual reflection and mutual care.
WCC NEWS: As COVID-19 leaves millions on brink of starvation, African church leader says hunger is beatable
Rev. Nicta Lubaale, the general secretary of the Organization of African Instituted Churches said hunger had become a big issue given the recent global data of the hungry and the failure to meet the Sustainable Development Goals on Zero Hunger.
“The number of people going hungry in the world is going up again. Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa is the most-hungry… as over 20 percent of the population is undernourished. The coming of any crisis would worsen the hunger,” said Lubaale.
The leader’s comments echo those of David Beasley, the executive director of the UN World Food Programme who told the UN Security Council on 21 April that while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was also on the brink of a hunger pandemic.
“Millions of civilians living in conflict-scarred nations, including many women and children, face being pushed to the brink of starvation, with the spectre of famine a very real and dangerous possibility,” said Beasley.
But Lubaale said it was possible to turn things around if leaders stopped tackling hunger as a shame of the poor.
“It is a shame on us leaders. Second, we have to refuse to live with the scandal of poverty in the midst of plenty,” said the leader, while adding that COVID-19 had emerged when some African nations were trying to comprehensively address existing challenges related to food security, including climate change, locusts and army worms.
According to Lubaale, the Organization of African Instituted Churches has been pushing for the integration of agriculture in the interventions against the virus.
At the same time, he feared in COVID-19 response, the world was repeating the same mistakes made in the initial responses to HIV.
“We left out the aspect of food only to realise later that it was very critical-people living with HIV and AIDS needed to be food secure to live positively and to be able to comply with the treatment regimes,” said the leader.
“We want to ensure that agriculture is not forgotten. We continue to engage the churches to make sure it is part of their response.”
In a congregation-based approach, the organization is working with farmers in local churches to improve farm yields, manage seeds and increase agricultural investments.
Community seed banks, which ensure an uninterrupted access to seeds in planting seasons for the farmers is a major project of the organization. So that it remains sustainable, a farmer returns a certain amount of seeds to the bank after each harvest.
The organization is also educating the farmers on the link between agriculture and nutrition, managing post-harvest losses and participating effectively in the markets.
“Our pastors on the ground are accompanying the people in rural areas so that they do not drop farming,” said Lubaale.
By Fredrick Nzwili is an independent journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya.
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 350 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway.
Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press
Our visiting address is:
World Council of Churches
150 route de Ferney
Geneve 2 1211
Switzerland
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