WCC News: WCC shares resources with Korean Christians on climate-responsible banking for children

On 27 October Korean Theology Forum on Climate Crisis organized a conference “The Response of the WCC to the Climate Crisis and its Policy for Carbon Neutrality” for the formation of church leaders, pastors and students interested in ways to connect local activities to the global horizon. The conference was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of the Republic of Korea. Climate march in the streets of New York in September 2019, when some 60,000 young people called upon their government officials, churches, and all the adults in their lives to not just say the right words, but begin a transformation in their daily lives. Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC 27 October 2023 Rev. Dr Hyunju Bae, co-president of Korean Christian Environmental Movement Solidarity for Integrity of Creation, offered a brief history of the commitment of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to eco-justice. She also explored the role of Korean ecumenical Christianity in climate justice and, among many other facets of WCC’s work, Bae cited the initiative “climate-responsible banking – a moral imperative towards for children”. Frederique Seidel, WCC senior advisor on child rights, offered an intervention, “Churches Saving Children's Lives through Climate Solutions,” citing examples of investment strategies to fight global warming pioneered by churches and Christian organizations. She also presented the statement shared by children from churches at the Paris Global Financing Pact summit in June. “Your interest in the power of green finance could help to turn what is currently a blind spot into an exponential roadmap for children’s future,” Seidel said. “Indeed, the 2023 Banking on Climate Chaos Report shows that fossil fuel financing from the world’s 60 largest banks has reached USD $5.54.6 trillion in the 7 years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, with $742 billion in fossil fuel financing in 2021 alone.” Children and young people are scared and discouraged by the absence of progress in halting global warming, explained Seidel. "The education of around 38 million children is disrupted each year by the climate emergency,” she said. “Nearly 90% of the burden of disease attributable to climate change is borne by children under the age of five.” The climate crisis is a children’s crisis, she said—and a fossil fuel crisis. “We need to reassure children that adults are doing all they can to halt the life-threatening increase of CO2 emissions,” said Seidel. "Therefore we led research among WCC member churches with experts who use one of the most powerful levers for the acceleration of climate solutions: climate-responsible banking.” She then explained how money a church or a family puts aside is busily shaping our future. “Often our money is being used to fund activities we would never dream of supporting directly: for example carbon bombs – new drilling for fossil fuels,” she said. “In the current absence of effective legal frameworks prohibiting new carbon bombs, the most powerful alternative and source of hope for children’s future comes from asset owners.” More and more churches are therefore asking their financial service providers for transparency on how their investments are managed, Seidel explained. “Every church, individual, institution, and business can help to defuse carbon bombs through their banking,” she said. “By engaging with our banks and pension funds, we can help billions of young people worldwide to lift a far too heavy burden from their shoulders.” A sustainable future is possible if all of us use the powerful lever of engaging with our banks and pension funds, she said. “What is the potential of South Korea in this challenge, with its rapid economic growth?” Seidel asked. “Let us come together and influence how money is invested: church money, family money, an institution’s money, a nation’s money. We need everyone to take this step for children.” Climate-Responsible Finance - a Moral Imperative towards Children Save Children’s Lives – Climate-Responsible Banking Survival Guide See more

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 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. 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

EarthBeat Weekly: A focus on solutions: What some DC Catholic properties are doing

A focus on solutions: What some DC Catholic properties are doing Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change October 27, 2023   In May 2021, 76 trees were planted at St. Thomas More Academy in Washington D.C., through the Laudato Trees program and in partnership with local nonprofit Casey Trees. Later, 12 more were added to the campus. (St. Thomas More Academy/Gerald Smith) This past summer, EarthBeat participated in a journalism collaboration among faith-based publications who wanted to focus on climate stories. The result was the "Growing a Green Church" series, focused on churches' efforts to steward their property (buildings and land) effectively in the context of a changing climate.  With support from the Solutions Journalism Network and funding from the Fetzer Institute, the collaborative focused on initiatives to care for our common home that are already in action, and aimed to find out if they're achieving their goals, what challenges they have faced along the way, and how others might be able to scale or replicate their success. For Solutions Journalism Day — the 10th anniversary of Solutions Journalism Network, celebrated on Oct. 26 — we revisited EarthBeat's most popular story from the "Growing a Green Church" series with a brand new video including interviews and footage of the Laudato Trees program in Washington, D.C.   As NCR environment correspondent Brian Roewe reported in the original coverage: "Laudato Trees — a play on the name of Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home" — has sought out Catholic locations to plant American beeches and chestnut oaks alongside other native and well-adapted species, seeing potential in the church's expansive property footprint in the nation's capital." Watch the video here or by clicking on the screenshot below, and read the full report "Laudato Trees planting program enlists Catholic properties to help increase DC's canopy" here.    What else is new on EarthBeat: Caritas: Voices from climate change migrants can be 'blueprint for change' by Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service Too often the voices of people fleeing their homes due to climate change and extreme weather patterns are overshadowed by an abundance of scientific data and statistics, said a Caritas Internationalis official. Amazon cardinal says consumerist cultures must learn from Indigenous by Justin McLellan, Catholic News Service "The Amazon really is a symbol, a symbol of the need to change our mentality, to be less consumeristic, to chase after money less," said Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, the first cardinal from the Amazon region.  California lets companies keep 'dangerous' oil wells unplugged forever by Aaron Cantú, Capital & Main An idle well fee program is masking vast cleanup costs while harming residents and the climate. A new California law just signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom aims to close loopholes that have allowed oil drillers to walk away from wells that are no longer profitable but remain harmful. Inspired by pope's message, USD faculty push for sustainable food systems by Kimberley Heatherington More than 25 University of San Diego faculty members have issued a statement echoing the pope's focus on climate change, challenging their campus to improve the climate impact and sustainability of its food systems.  What's happening in other climate news: New House Speaker Champions Fossil Fuels and Dismisses Climate Concerns — Lisa Friedman for The New York Times Federal officials say plan for water cuts from 3 Western states is enough to protect Colorado River — Kathleen Ronayne and Amy Taxin for The Associated Press Journalists and meteorologists must go further, and call rapid hurricane intensification a symptom of fossil fuels. — Emily Atkin for HEATED How Climate Change Drives Conflict and War Crimes Around the Globe — Katie Surma for Inside Climate News Impact of farming on climate crisis will be a key COP topic – finally — Fiona Harvey for The Guardian Final Beat: Motivated, annoyed, confused, sad, anxious, optimistic, suspicious — Americans report a range of emotional reactions to climate news and information, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center, published Oct. 25. But the most common emotional reaction to climate news is frustration that there is so much political disagreement on the issue: 79% of U.S. adults reported feeling this way. For more information on these survey results, and exclusive data on how U.S. Catholics responded, look for NCR staff reporter Aleja Hertzler-McCain's report next week at EarthBeat. Thanks for reading EarthBeat! Stephanie Clary Environment Editor National Catholic Reporter sclary@ncronline.org Instagram: @stephanieclaryncr Twitter/X: @scherp01   Featured Advertisers   Explore spirituality and social justice at Xavier University. Graduate theology degrees and certificates. Online options. Tuition discounts available. Need fresh ideas for your homilies?  More than 900 relevant and practical homilies at www.seedsforsowing.weebly.com

SojoMail - The politics of grief on Día de Muertos

Día de Muertos Reminds Christians To Grieve Sandy Ovalle Martínez writes in this week’s SojoMail that she is not interested in a commercialized version of Día de Muertos. Instead, she wants to practice grief as a way of pursuing justice: I am interested in the family remembrance rituals, in the nights at the cemetery communing with loved ones, in the ofrendas set up in homes, schools, and public plazas. Traditionally, Día de Muertos means walking through the streets smelling the fragrant scent of calabaza en tacha, the freshness of mandarins, the herbaceous and bitter scent of cempaxóchitl flowers — the scent of death. It’s tasting the once-a-year delicacy of pan de muerto, finding the names of deceased loved ones in calaveritas de azúcar and chocolate. I often dig out a sepia-toned copy of my abuelitos’ wedding picture and search for a picture where my great-grandma’s long, white, braided hair shows below her veil. I update my list of remembrance with the names of loved ones who passed this year, spending a few minutes savoring their memory, searching for a good picture that would do justice to their character and self-presentation on the ofrenda, and thinking of a few items they would enjoy having on their remembrance altar. Western Protestant Christianity mourns fast. It dislikes grief. Verses that say not to “grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13) are often interpreted as guideposts to limit the length and depth of grief. We forget there are also verses like Psalm 34:18, where God “is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” The requirement here is that we are broken-hearted and crushed in spirit, that is, we carry the spirit of death. READ THE FULL ARTICLE Forward Share

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Our Latest House Hearing Reveals Split on Biggest Threat to Religious Liberty (by Elleiana Green) Republicans say the Biden administration has failed to protect religious liberty abroad, but Democrats warn of Christian nationalism at home. Aaron Rosen Considers the World As Jesus Saw It (by Josiah R. Daniels) Understanding Jesus as a Jewish, visual thinker invites us into the process of discerning in collaboration with other people. An Interview With CCCU Leadership on Racial Justice and LGBTQ+ Inclusion (by Mitchell Atencio) The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities doesn’t allow members to hire faculty in same-sex marriages. Why won’t it get involved in racial justice disputes? The Queer, Christian Yearning of Sufjan Stevens (by Ezra Craker) On Javelin, Stevens continues to draw on the inherent longing of both Christian spirituality and queer experience.

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From the Magazine Louisiana Already Has Climate Refugees (by Bill McKibben) The “public interest” requires the rapid transition to sun, wind, and batteries — not liquified natural gas terminals.

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Living into Right Relations: October 2023

Reconciliation and Indigenous Justice News from The United Church of Canada 40 Days of Engagement on Anti-Racism   The 40 Days of Engagement on Anti-Racism program returned for the third year on October 10, with a series of live events that you can join at any time through the CHURCHx platform. The inaugural live event was a discussion of “The Dual Function of Genealogy and Family Lore in Cases of Race Shifting,” by Prof. Darryl LeRoux. In case you missed it, you can still view the recording. In this talk, we learned about how genealogy and family stories can be used to appropriate Indigenous identity, and the impact this is having on Indigenous rights. On November 7, Dr. Ingrid Waldron will be talking about environmental racism in racialized and Indigenous communities. There are also a number of written resources on anti-Indigenous racism on the 40 Days of Engagement on Anti-Racism web page.  [Image credit: The United Church of Canada] Mohawk Bible Available at the United Church Bookstore     Ohiatonhseratokénti: The Holy Bible in Mohawk is a complete translation of the Bible into the Mohawk language made possible by the devotion, knowledge, and artistry of Harvey Satewas Gabriel. Fostered by generations of women in the Gabriel family and the communities of Kanesatake and Kahnawake, this translation was also made possible through the support of the Kanesatake United Church, the Kanesatake Mohawk Council, The United Church of Canada Foundation, and the Canadian Bible Society. It is now available at the United Church Bookstore for $45.00. All profits from the sale of the Bible will go to Indigenous language projects, through the Indigenous Church and The United Church of Canada Foundation. You can learn more about the translation in this Broadview article and this new video from the United Church of Canada Foundation. [Image credit: Ohiatonhseratokénti: The Holy Bible in Mohawk] Home on Native Land RAVEN, an Indigenous rights and environmental organization, has put together a new self-directed course on Indigenous law, designed to help non-Indigenous allies advocate with greater understanding. Home on Native Land is a series of 10 videos, cartoon and lessons, that take you on a journey through history — and the frontlines of legal action — with Anishinaabe comedian Ryan McMahon.   [Video credit: Home on Native Land] Facebook Twitter Website Email Instagram YouTube Donate to The United Church of Canada and help fund life changing work around the world!

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