10th Assembly of the EUROPEAN CHRISTIAN ENVIRONMENT NETWORK
27 September – 1 October 2014, Balatonszárszó, Hungary
Letter to Church leaders and the Churches of Europe
THE CHURCHES AND FAITH COMMUNITIES OF EUROPE HAVE A ROLE
AND A VOICE IN RESPONDING TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Who are we?
ECEN is a network of Christians across Europe contributing to the Conference of
European Churches work on environment.
Delegates at the 10th ECEN Assembly came together in Balatonszárszó, Hungary
to share, learn, work and pray for a more sustainable future. We came from a
multitude of traditions that cross boundaries and have similar values and shared
concerns. Even if we come from different traditions and geographical areas we
breathe the same air as all other people together with all God’s creatures on the
planet Earth, and we partake of the precious gifts of air, soil and all natural
resources.
After sharing theological insights on our relation to creation, we learned of the
latest scientific status of climate change, and dialogued with representatives
from government. Following these exchanges our sense of urgency has been
acutely heightened and our commitment to act and change strengthened.
What must we do?
We are called to act locally with a global outlook. As churches and faith
communities we are called upon to care for our neighbour and our neighbour is
every living creature in God’s creation.
We call upon the churches and church leaders across Europe to respond to the
spiritual and practical crisis of climate change. We followed the inspiring address
by Bishop James Jones of the Church of England to the Assembly and identified
five practical action points.
Prayer
We pray as a community of faith. We listen to each other and we share our
fears but we also share our hopes; fears for the foreseeable impact of climate
change and hopes for the possibility of change and a renewed world.
We should follow the example of Our Lord and pray that God’s will be done on
earth as it is heaven.
Bishop Jones prayer:2
Holy Jesus
Child of Adam
Come in Glory
And renew the face of the Earth
Personal
Follow the example of Our Lord and teach the faithful to live accountable lives.
Climate change creates hunger, thirst, sickness, refugees and destitute people
and in our response to these we can serve Christ today (Matthew 25; 44).
Through the choices we make on energy, food and water we contribute to the
environmental impacts on others. We must examine our decisions in the light of
Christ´s suffering, death and resurrection.
Parochial
Local churches and faith communities can show the love of God in action through
caring for creation; by acting to reduce the ecological footprint of their activities
and by adopting goals for the reduction of CO² emissions of the EU Institutions
and their policies. Churches and faith communities can contribute by efficient
use of energy, supporting renewable energy sources and by considering
disinvesting assets from fossil fuel companies.
Political
We call upon all churches and faith communities to address climate injustice;
those who are most affected by climate change are the ones who contributed
least to the problem. There is moral obligation on developed countries to lower
greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time lend support to the most
affected. Do not give up in the face of injustice; remember the plea of the
widow in the parable of the unjust judge (Luke 18; 1-8).
Planetary
Start a dialogue with other traditions and faiths on climate. Involve scientists
and others who have studied climate change in a conversation on how to
respond. And never forget those who suffer most from climate injustice; find
common ground for dialogue with others to build resilience in combatting climate
change.
The Pilgrimage to Paris
Time is limited. Countries of the world will meet at the United Nations Climate
negotiations in Paris in December 2015. People all over the planet hope for a
fair, ambitious and binding new treaty as one way to overcome the climate
threat. People of faith are making a pilgrimage, both real and metaphorical,
towards this date. Get involved, learn, pray and take action to help bring about
a successful outcome.
You can read Bishop James Jones’ practical points in full and find out more about
how to get involved on the ECEN website: www.ecen.org
