Presbyterians for Earth Care - Called to Make a Difference for the World and the Church

Called to Make a Difference for Creation Dear Friend of Presbyterians for Earth Care,   The climate crisis is real.[1] The climate crisis is caused by humans.ibid. The climate crisis is desecrating God’s creation, harming creatures that God created, and making this planet that God entrusted us to care for, uninhabitable.   For more than 25 years, Presbyterians for Earth Care (PEC) has been working to protect God’s creation. Now we are in a climate crisis and our work has never been more important. We need your support to continue. Wildfires, floods, hurricanes and other extreme weather events are destroying lands and homes and livelihoods and humans. This has happened due to selfishness, greed, and the desire for power. We must stop our reliance on fossil fuels. We can only do that if we are willing to give up some of our comforts and our resistance to change.   As Christians, we believe that we have been called to be stewards of the earth. Presbyterians for Earth Care has been connecting, equipping, and inspiring God’s people to be good stewards in their regions, presbyteries, churches and homes through trainings, educational webinars, devotionals and in-person, virtual, and hybrid conferences. We need to continue this work in order to save lives and what is left of God’s creation. We need you to be talking about climate change and acting in your families, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods and churches.  You can view and share recordings and resources from our past educational webinars on various earth care topics by clicking HERE.  Don't forget to download our Advent Devotional, which you can enjoy in both booklet and web-based format HERE.  You can sign up HERE to receive a daily emailed devotion written in both English and Spanish languages.   Presbyterians for Earth Care can help with resources, consultations, and opportunities to meet virtually with others. Mostly we need YOU. PEC cannot do this alone. The truth is that we need your financial support to help pay our Coordinator and guest speakers, maintain our website, social media and databases.   This year, PEC is offering a new opportunity to contribute to a matching fund. Our goal is $10,000 and we already have $1000 from a generous donor. Once the goal is met, all future donations (up to $10,000) will be matched. This means that if you donate $500 to the match or after the goal is met, your $500 donation will be doubled and worth $1000.   We are so grateful for your support that has allowed us to continue our mission. You may make a donation using the enclosed remittance envelope or visit our online donation page by clicking HERE. All gifts, no matter the size, are appreciated. Please give as generously as you can. Our lives depend on it.     With gratitude,   Bruce Gillette, Moderator   And the PEC Steering Committee: Jane Laping, Jo Randolph, Mark Eakin, Sam Hamilton-Poore, Scharmel Roussel, Bill Somplatsky-Jarman, Courtenay Willcox, and Mindy Hidenfelter (Coordinator)   [1] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Synthesis Report https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/resources/spm-headline-statements   Click Here to Make a Donation

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Minute for Mission: Matthew 25: Eradicate Systemic Poverty Sunday

Witness, Share and Evangelize: Minute for Mission: Matthew 25: Eradicate Systemic...: November 26, 2023 Panama 1 For more than 52 years the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) has helped communities...

Today in the Mission Yearbook - The call of Matthew 25 is heard in distant lands

Witness, Share and Evangelize: Today in the Mission Yearbook - The call of Matthe...: The Sewing Center Project is launched in North Pakistan to help incarcerated people provide for their families upon their release November 2...

WCC News: At Christian Aid assembly, Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata reflects on “the work we need to do together”

Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches (WCC) programme director for Public Witness and Diakonia, offered a keynote speech at the Christian Aid assembly in London on 20 November. Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata in Bogota, Colombia. Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC 23 November 2023 “My contribution will briefly frame some of the key challenges and opportunities that the WCC and its ecumenical partners must address to remain relevant,” began Mtata, also asking: “What are the global challenges that summon the churches witness and action?” The world’s crises require poly-solutions, noted Mtata. “Before we look at these solutions, we need to name some of the contemporary pressing challenges,” he said. “The crisis of liberal democracy is manifested in nations disregarding international law and resorting to the use of violence as a means to achieve what they want.” This has led to the undermining of the multilateral institutions, he said. “Closely linked to the crisis of democracy is the crisis of the free-market capitalist economy,” he said. “During times of economic shocks, the interests of the rich have been protected and during prosperity, the rich have enjoyed the profits,” he said. “The rich can evade taxation by stashing their wealth in tax havens.” The climate and environmental crises create other related challenges, continued Mtata, who also cited the crisis of the legacies of slavery, colonialism, and other forms of power imbalances.  “Many poor countries trying to extricate themselves from the legacy of colonialism still needs to deal with challenges of a global economic system that is skewed against them in terms of trade, debt, and voice at global governance levels,” he said, then posed the question: “Why is working ecumenically so critical?” The WCC’s work is not done in isolation, he said. “In many cases, the WCC and its partners may not themselves get involved in the implementation of local interventions,” Mtata said. “The WCC global profile could be leveraged to convene peacebuilding and mediation platforms, like we have started doing in Colombia.” Keynote by Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata at the Christian Aid assembly in London 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

WCC NEWS: H.E. Archbishop Dr Vicken Aykazian stands up for Thursdays in Black: “Just go on, do—and we can do it together”

Thursdays in Black ambassadors play a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. H.E. Archbishop Dr Vicken Aykazian is vice-moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee. H.E. Archbishop Dr Vicken Aykazian is vice-moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee, Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC  23 November 2023   Why do you think we need Thursdays in Black? Archbishop Aykazian: Women and children are persecuted or they are marginalized, and we know around the world, there are many countries who have ignored women and children completely. As churches, it’s our moral responsibility to defend every single woman and child in the world. What responsibility do you think the World Council of Churches has? Archbishop Aykazian: As members of the World Council of Churches, we should go a little bit further, to hold responsibility for everyone who needs our defense. I think that Thursdays in Black is very important because the World Council of Churches is based in 120 different countries—and also in Geneva—so when we send the message we make people know that this is something very important to Christians.  What is your vision for strengthening the Thursdays in Black campaign? Archbishop Aykazian: There are other countries who have the same approach in different ways. I would like everybody to follow the lead of the WCC to bring justice to women and children. We are all equal. We are all created in the image of God. We invite everybody to do it, not only by speaking—but by acting. What is your own commitment as a Thursdays in Black ambassador? Archbishop Aykazian: As a Thursdays in Black ambassador, I hope I can make a difference. But no man is an island. We should work together. I have been traveling all around the world. I take this message with me, and I try to convince every single person wherever I go to respect the rights of women and children. We all have mothers, sisters, wives, cousins. and we love them—and we love and respect every single woman and every single child. I invite everybody to do, to act, without talking too much. Just go on—do, and we can do it together. Please join me. Please join the World Council of Churches as we try to change the practices. Leaders of the World Council of Churches (WCC) are stepping up as #ThursdaysinBlack ambassadors. H.E. Archbishop Dr Vicken Aykazian, vice moderator of the World Council of Churches’ Central Committee, speaks of the importance of acting together to make a difference 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 Navajo creation story tells how Turkey saved the People

A Navajo creation story tells how Turkey saved the People Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change November 24, 2023 (Unsplash/George Karelitsky) In a new column at EarthBeat on Tuesday, public theologian Damian Costello wrote, "Thanksgiving is a complex experience in Indigenous communities. The story of the First Thanksgiving has long been used to emphasize the erasure of Native communities and appropriation of land. In response, some Native people observe a Day of Mourning to commemorate the tragic history." Other Native people have had a different approach to that erasure. A decade ago, when Costello and his family lived on the Navajo Nation, he recalls there was "a sense of cultural self-confidence" that proclaimed, "We're not going anywhere and what we know is as real as anything on the planet." It was then, when living on the largest Indian reservation in the U.S., that Costello first heard the Navajo, or Diné, creation story of how Turkey saved the People. In his essay, he reflects on how that story can inform all Americans' experiences of Thanksgiving, through its focus on what Benjamin Franklin thought should be the country's national bird, that turkey. Read more: Turkey, our national bird of gratitude, carries the seeds for a new world More reading for Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Day: This year, put compassion on the Thanksgiving dinner menu Sisters across US serve thousands of Thanksgiving meals Giving thanks for those who lived out of love Navigating grief this holiday season Indigenous traditions teach us giving thanks is a circular motion How my Catholic faith and Mohawk heritage teach me to embrace sustainable living     What else is new on EarthBeat: Small, sustainable changes to combat kitchen waste by Kara Daddario Bown When Kara Daddario Bown became a parent, she felt the need to embrace her values more seriously. She started by rethinking the "throwaway culture" in her kitchen. Will climate cookbooks change how we eat? by Caroline Saunders, Grist Sustainable diets have been around for ages, but an emerging cookbook genre signals a new appetite for change.   An archdiocese in Kenya advocates for river conservation among local communities by Shadrack Omuka The Kalondon River, owned by the Nyeri Archdiocese, has been facing numerous challenges, including logging upstream, waste dumping from locals and illegal tapping.   What's happening in other climate news: Global Temperatures Briefly Crossed Critical Threshold For The First Time Last Week — Siladitya Ray for Forbes The EPA Launches Youth Council of Gen Z and Millennials — Alli Maloney for Teen Vogue Women and LGBTQ+ people are uniquely vulnerable to climate change, new report shows — Jessica Kutz for The 19th* News A fan died of heat at a Taylor Swift concert. It's a rising risk with climate change — Alejandra Borunda for NPR Christians and climate change: Southern California churches preach very different messages — Brooke Staggs for The Orange County Register   Final Beat: Like last year at the United Nations climate change conference, COP27, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, loss and damages will again be a major topic of discussion at this year's U.N. climate summit, COP28, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. Ahead of the start of the global gathering next week, you might be wondering exactly what is loss and damage? Why is it important? Is it controversial? And what has the Catholic Church said about it? Revisit the "Burning Questions" explainer that NCR environment correspondent Brian Roewe wrote last year: What is loss and damage? Then, to find out what agreements on the issue were reached during last year's climate change conference, read Roewe and GSR Africa/Middle East correspondent Doreen Ajiambo's report, "Last-minute COP27 deal on loss and damage called 'a real breakthrough'." Thanks for reading EarthBeat! Stephanie Clary Environment Editor National Catholic Reporter sclary@ncronline.org Instagram: @stephanieclaryncr Twitter/X: @scherp01     Featured Advertisers   Holyart is a Catholic e-commerce that specializes in handcrafted church supplies and religious gifts. Over 70k products, made in Italy. Visit www.holyart.com A book of prayers for the 10 most pressing issues facing the world today.

SojoMail - At Sojourners, we’re grateful for you

A note of gratitude As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, I’m thinking about the many things I am grateful for, including good health, a wonderful wife, and two amazing sons who bring me immeasurable joy, even as they grow up faster than I can believe. I’m also grateful for Sojourners’ staff and board of directors, who work diligently in pursuit of our mission to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and faith-rooted action through our publication, mobilizing, and advocacy.  I’m also giving thanks for all who remain engaged in the work of building the Beloved Community — a community, nation, and world in which neither punishment nor privilege is tied to race, ethnicity, gender, ableness, gender identity, sexual orientation, or anything else that has been used to create a hierarchy of human value.    I’m deeply thankful for everyone who is courageously engaging with Jesus’ call to be peacemakers amid so much horrific violence in Israel, Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, and everywhere that is suffering the horrors of war and violence.     Lastly, I’m grateful beyond measure for all of you — Sojourners’ readers and supporters, who make possible our work for a radically more just and peaceful future.  I wish you and yours a happy Thanksgiving and a blessed holiday season.    With thanksgiving,  Adam Russell Taylor  President of Sojourners    P.S. Giving Tuesday, one of the most important giving days of the year, is Nov. 28. I hope you will show your support for our critical work with a contribution; as a token of our appreciation, you’ll receive a chocolate Advent calendar. Sojourners Giving Tuesday  Forward Share

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From the Magazine God, Please Pass Along This Message to My Pet (by Jenna Barnett) Lessons in communicating with your cat via the Holy Spirit.

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