Climate Witness Project

While initially framed as a challenge, over the years it has become for us a Sunday when we remember that our coming to worship is a part of our worship…..taking the time to praise and thank our Creator for all of the natural beauty and other creatures that we see on our way to church.

https://loom.ly/xdwukiE

Land Acknowledgements and a Thanksgiving Address At Waterloo CRC we have a group of folks who are learning about justice for Indigenous peoples and are committed to acting on that knowledge. We call ourselves JIP – Justice and Indigenous Peoples. After participating in Hearts Exchanged and learning more about land acknowledgements, Worship Minis...

Being a beautiful creation in a beautiful world made by a beautiful Creator means you just can’t help but be thankful.

Justice from the ground of Thanksgiving The book of Genesis begins with a beautiful telling of the creation of the universe. It is a good creation and after humanity is on the scene it is a very good creation. The human story is a beautiful one with communion with the Creator, a beautiful garden, relationship with animals, the beginning o...

Intense monsoon rains and floods in India’s southern states have killed at least 25 people, with thousands rescued and taken to relief camps, officials say. At least 16 people have been killed in Telangana state, and nine in neighboring Andhra Pradesh in the past two days. “Lots of houses have been damaged as well,” Y Nagi Reddy, director general of Telangana’s disaster response and fire service, told AFP news agency on Monday, adding that there had been 400mm (16 inches) of rainfall within the past 24 hours. According to local media reports, the Telangana government has also urged India’s federal government to declare the floods a “national calamity”. “The [Telangana] government will submit a comprehensive report on the flood damage to the Centre. We will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to visit the flood-affected areas in the state and also urging the Centre to declare the floods in Telangana as a national calamity,” a statement released by the government said. So far, around 3,800 people have been rescued in Telangana and moved to relief camps.

https://dojustice.crcna.org/article/justice-prayers-september-4-2024

After political upheaval and with a brand new government, Bangladesh is in crisis with 300,000 people displaced after massive floods. In this time of trouble upon trouble, we pray:

https://dojustice.crcna.org/article/justice-prayers-august-28-2024

Good news in Canada: Senate passes long-awaited legislation to tackle environmental racism

https://loom.ly/mlqLs5s

Senate passes long-awaited legislation to tackle environmental racism in Canada Advocates celebrate the Senate’s passage of Canada’s first environmental justice bill, marking a historic milestone.

Canadians you can sign this open letter to Environment and Climate change Minister Guilbeault to show your voice in advocating for bold climate action in Canada.

https://loom.ly/jxkhtpQ

Minister Guilbeault, will you Give it up for the Earth!? The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, P.C., M.P. Minister of Environment and Climate Change C.c. The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P Minister of Natural Resources Dear Minister Guilbeault, As a member of a faith community deeply committed to the stewardship of our planet, I am writing with a se...

In mid-July, the heat index in Dubai was 144 degrees Fahrenheit. In late June, the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, registered a temperature of 125 degrees. This heat coincided with Hajj season. When it was over, more than 1,300 people had lost their lives. And in Egypt, temperatures have rarely fallen below 100 degrees since May. It was actually hotter in the Gulf region last summer, topping out at an eye-popping real feel of 158 degrees in the coastal areas of Iran and the United Arab Emirates. That reading and the unrelenting heat this season exceeded the “wet-bulb temperature” at which humans, if exposed for six hours, can no longer cool themselves off, leading to heat-related illnesses and death. The World Bank estimates that by 2050, water scarcity will result in GDP reductions of up to 14 percent in the region. In 2021, a UNICEF report stated that Egypt could run out of water by 2025, with the Nile River coming under particular stress. Water stress in countries such as Egypt is exacerbated by the upriver flow of the Nile being restricted because of the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Syria and Turkey have been at odds over many years because the Turks have built dams along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, cutting the flow south. And among the many issues that divide Israelis and Palestinians is water and who has the right to tap into the Mountain Aquifer of the West Bank.

https://dojustice.crcna.org/article/justice-prayers-august-21-2024

Join Water Watchers, Indigenous leaders, KAIROS Canada, water advocates, and UN staff in calling on the Canadian government to recognize the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation in the federal legal framework by signing and sharing the petition for the legal right to water.

https://loom.ly/CazFa7w

Legally Recognize the Human Right to Water in Canada Drinking water and sanitation are globally recognized human rights, yet they are not legally enshrined or universally accessed in Canada. Sign this petition to join Indigenous leaders, water advocates, and UN staff calling on the Canadian government to recognize the human rights to safe drinking wat...

When we encounter an old growth tree, we notice the many twists and turns she has had to make as she moves around the many obstacles she has faced in her journey to the Light that sustains her and all beings.

Spirituality and Justice for Trees The Bible is bookended with trees. In Genesis, the tree of life stands in for the Garden of Eden. In Revelation, the tree represents the restored New Jerusalem, a tree whose leaves “are for the healing of nations.” The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. This is a passage of s...

The Pantanal wetland, which falls within Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, covering an area almost half the size of Germany – is facing the proposed construction of a commercial waterway which involves dredging wetlands and permanently altering natural flood cycles. The Brazilian government wants to develop the upper 435 miles (700km) of the Paraguay River into the Paraguay-Paraná hidrovia (waterway). In 2022 and 2023, preliminary licenses were issued for the construction of port facilities within the Pantanal. A cohort of 40 scientists have released a paper, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment saying that this waterway development represents an existential threat to the ecosystem: reducing the floodplain, increasing the risk of fires and transforming the area into a landscape that could more easily be farmed.

Prof Karl M Wantzen, an ecologist from the University of Tours, and Unesco chair for river culture, said the wetland “is a real paradise on Earth. Nowhere else will you see so many hyacinth macaws, jaguars, swamp deer, anacondas, caymans, more than 300 fish species, 500 bird species, 2,500 species of water plants … All of that is at risk.”

https://dojustice.crcna.org/article/justice-prayers-august-14-2024

The province of British Columbia issued an emergency alert Monday morning after water began spilling over the landslide blocking the Chilcotin River. Gerald Pinchbeck with the Cariboo Regional District Emergency Operations Centre told CBC News that water began moving over the dam around 9 a.m. PT. The province's emergency alert, sent at 10:35 a.m. PT, urged residents anywhere along the banks of the Chilcotin River from Hanceville to the Fraser River, and anywhere along the banks of the Fraser River from the Chilcotin River to the Gang Ranch bridge around 25 kilometers downstream, to evacuate immediately. Officials are expecting a pulse of water to carry fallen trees, organic matter and debris down the Chilcotin and Fraser rivers. Water levels along the Chilcotin River are expected to rise far above the spring melt, while water levels along the Fraser River are expected to be below spring levels. "The going concern are debris flows, which aren't included in the [river flow] modeling," Pinchbeck said. "We don't know what those impacts will be, but our concern is for the safety of people and infrastructure in the area."

https://dojustice.crcna.org/article/justice-prayers-august-7-2024

We invite each of you to hold a Faithful Climate Conversation in your congregation this year. Everything you need to know is in the simple, downloadable guides.

https://loom.ly/WAwG1Cc

Sustainable Brandon: a wonderful example of what can come out of a Faithful Climate Conversation A group in Brandon, Manitoba, connected to both KAIROS and Knox United Church, held three Conversations in 2021 based on the resources offered by For the Lov...

Last week the town of Jasper, AB’s 5000 permanent residents and 1000s more seasonal workers were evacuated and a fast-moving wildfire destroyed approximately 30% of the town’s structures. The fire is still burning in the park.

https://dojustice.crcna.org/article/justice-prayers-july-31-2024

Multiple wildfires in the Canadian Rockies' largest national park sent up to 25,000 visitors and residents fleeing west over the last open mountain road Tuesday, navigating through darkness and soot following a government alert during the area's busiest tourist time of the year.

“It’s wall-to-wall traffic,” Carolyn Campbell, an Edmonton resident, said by phone from her vehicle. “(The smoke) is pretty thick. We’ve got masks in the car.” She said it took hours to move just seven kilometers (about four miles), and worried about others who fled with little gas in their tanks. Hundreds of wildfires are burning in western Canada, and those fleeing Jasper National Park and Jasper town — home to 4,700 residents — in Alberta province were given the unusual order later Tuesday to make a vast U-turn east if they needed a place to stay. To the west, British Columbia province already had more than 300 wildfires of its own. Stephen Lacroix with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency said Jasper town estimated about 10,000 people, including seasonal workers, were there when the evacuation call went out. Lacroix said police were going door to door to make sure everyone had left. He also said Parks Canada estimated about 15,000 people had been in the park.

https://dojustice.crcna.org/article/justice-prayers-july-24-2024

Season of Creation 2024 is globally centered around the theme, “To hope and act with Creation.” Talking about climate change is a starting point for hopeful action, and For the Love of Creation shows you just how to do that by using the Faithful Climate Conversation guides.

https://loom.ly/4BEIoXQ

Engagement – For the Love of Creation Increasing dialogue and reducing polarization in the climate conversation in Canada in order to build consensus on the actions we need to take to build a sustainable future for all.

Adult education classes provide a great way for churches to support climate justice, according to Harriette Mostert, a Vice Principal, teacher, and church member in Kitchener. Mostert attended and presented at the creation care series at Community CRC.

https://loom.ly/Jj_xoZI

Class Explores Creation Care Working with the Climate Witness Project, Community CRC, Kitchener, Ont., ran an adult education series on creation care and climate change.

Our Canadian CWP Organizers and Justice Mobilizer have been hard at work this summer offering adult ed series on the climate crisis across congregations in Canada. Check out this news story about their most recent experiences and email us at [email protected] to have us at your congregation, youth group or high school.

Class Explores Creation Care Working with the Climate Witness Project, Community CRC, Kitchener, Ont., ran an adult education series on creation care and climate change.

Power started to come back for some of the millions of homes and businesses left in the dark when Hurricane Beryl slammed into the Houston area, while the storm – which killed several people before weakening – moved east, spawning suspected tornadoes and causing more damage. Beryl was blamed for the deaths of at least seven people in the Houston area on Monday, officials said. Three of those people were killed by fallen trees, one died in a fire, two drowned, and a civilian police department employee died after being trapped in high water while driving to work. One person died in north-west Louisiana during the storm when a tree fell on a home, according to authorities. After a peak Monday of more than 2.7 million customers around Houston without power, the numbers improved with more than 2.3m homes and businesses lacking electricity by Tuesday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. The lack of cooling to people’s homes, downed power lines and non-functioning traffic lights led officials to ask residents to stay home if possible. There has never been a category 5 Atlantic hurricane this early in the year before, with most major storms forming closer to September. Beryl, however, rapidly accelerated from a minor storm to a category 4 event in just two days. This deadly intensification was aided by unusually hot ocean temperatures along much of Beryl’s path, scientists say, with seawater heated by the climate crisis helping provide the storm with extra energy over the past 10 days. “Beryl would be astounding to happen anyway, but for it to form in June is completely unprecedented,” said Brian McNoldy, a climate scientist at the University of Miami. “It’s just remarkable to see sea temperatures this warm.

https://dojustice.crcna.org/article/justice-prayers-july-10-2024

This church is tackling food waste!

https://loom.ly/sGyP8Ac

Niagara Falls Church Growing Food Recovery Project The Official Magazine of the Christian Reformed Church

“The trees down here are wonderful,” one of the parents had said, as we watched the screen of green slide by the bus windows. Nobody disagreed with that assessment, regardless of their chosen mode of transportation.

https://loom.ly/og1WITQ

Planting A Bur Oak The other parents and I were getting off the school bus, when I heard a comment that I thought would be the start of an argument. We had been shuttled upriver to retrieve our vehicles and the canoe trailer after spending the morning paddling downstream. One dad was mocking another: “Are you sure y...

Climate change is a global disruptor, affecting weather patterns and harming the poor and other vulnerable people. These changes pose a direct threat to the homeless, who lack protection against the harsh elements.

Homelessness, drug addiction and the world climate crisis During Anders' time at Bates College in Maine (he just graduated), he often went to Lewiston, Maine’s downtown skatepark, where he met with several young people. He learned a lot about their lives and struggles, especially those related to homelessness and substance abuse. Many of these individual...

With two fires listed at 0% containment as of Tuesday afternoon, residents in southern New Mexico have been forced to undergo “frenzied evacuations.” About 500 structures were lost. The fires, in an area undergoing extreme drought, are two of dozens of uncontained wildfires in the US. We pray for those affected today.

Prayer at the link:

Justice Prayers - June 19, 2024 It takes some of us a lifetime to learn that Christ, our Good Shepherd, knows exactly what He is doing with us. He understands us perfectly. - W. Phillip Keller UN food chief warns of areas with zero harvests left The director of the World Food Programme’s global office, Martin Frick, told the BBC...

The church congregants were motivated in part by a high rate of food insecurity in their province. Food Banks Canada gave a grade of D- for that poverty measure in 2023, ranking food insecurity at 19.6 % in Manitoba. Covenant CRC wanted to be part of the solution.

https://loom.ly/Z7RJWak

Winnipeg Church Uses Land to Grow ‘Garden of Hope’ The Official Magazine of the Christian Reformed Church

First, I learned that survival of the fittest refers to the skill of fitting in well with one’s environment. The “fittest” are those who grasp the deep interrelatedness of all creatures and have learned to find their place inside that grand and profound web of interrelatedness.

https://loom.ly/LAhH5GE

Justice: “Survival” of the fittest? What images and associations come to mind when you ponder the phrase, “Survival of the fittest?” All my life I have assumed that the phrase meant the strongest ones become stronger and more numerous while the weakest ones diminish and eventually die out. I picture ads for fitness clubs showcased...

In unincorporated Marion County, around 800 to 900 households—approximately 40 percent of all homes—do not have access to public drinking water, according to government estimates, a figure one water expert called “staggering.” Across Alabama, around 800,000 people—about 20 percent of the state’s population—rely on private water supplies, like wells, for drinking water, according to state estimates. That reality often has socioeconomic and racial implications, too. In some places, such as Athens, just under 100 miles north of Birmingham, and Prichard, just north of Mobile, most whites have reliable municipal water and sewer service while many Black residents suffer from deteriorated or nonexistent water infrastructure. In rural Marion County, where around 94 percent of residents are white, connections, money and power often determine where the water flows, according to residents. There are other risks, too, as a rapidly warming climate brings heat waves and drought, extreme weather and flooding. But summers, they recognize, are getting hotter. As many as one-fifth of the world’s wells are at risk of drying up in the near-term, researchers have concluded.

https://dojustice.crcna.org/article/justice-prayers-june-12-2024

John Calvin CRC in Truro, N.S., has the incredible blessing of excess land. A group of church members sought to use the assets and resources of the church to bless their local community. So they created a community garden that addresses food insecurity and promotes environmental stewardship.

https://loom.ly/NBHt-PU

A Decade of Community Gardening John Calvin CRC’s community garden in Truro, N.S., addresses food insecurity and promotes environmental stewardship.

It's always great when we get to talk with passionate people about climate change! Thanks Community CRC in Kitchener for hosting some learning sessions with your adult education group.

Last year, the US economy grew by 2.5 percent while the total carbon emissions decreased by 2-3 percent, according to the US Energy Information Administration. US emissions are now down 20 percent from the all-time high in 2007, according to the EIA. Americans, on their own, are consistently choosing to save money by reducing their own energy costs, whether it is through more efficient lighting, electric cars, better windows, etc. Although per-capita emissions are still at the high end of the global scale, the US has gone from emitting around 20 percent of the global total of CO2 annually in 2000 to less than 12 percent of the global total in 2023 - though part of this decrease is certainly due to increased emissions and population growth in other nations.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported in April that the global emissions of CO2 increased by 1.1 percent in 2023 over 2022, and the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is now at 419.3 ppm. That’s more than 50 percent higher than it was before the Industrial Revolution (280 ppm).

https://dojustice.crcna.org/article/justice-prayers-may-29-2024

These funding cuts' severe repercussions disproportionately impact Indigenous peoples. For many tribal nations, the land is sacred and their traditions are interwoven with its preservation.

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Dissecting the Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act God’s creation is an intricate tapestry, each thread – be it river, mountain, forest or creature – playing an indispensable role. The policies we enact either strengthen or fray this delicate fabric. Conservation isn't just an environmental concern; it's a moral calling rooted in our role of l...

The toll of the flooding in southern Brazil two weeks ago is becoming apparent. After more rain in 48 hours than is usual for 4 months,155 people were dead, tens of thousands displaced and in shelters, hundreds of thousands of people evacuated. The water has nowhere to recede to so it is pooling and stagnating and impeding any recovery of infrastructure, livelihoods.

https://dojustice.crcna.org/article/justice-prayers-may-22-2024