Statement from the Primate on the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

Dear friends,

People everywhere are becoming more and more urgently aware of the perilous state of much of creation, and our responsibility as stewards of the earth which we inhabit.

Earlier this month Pope Francis called the 1.25-billion members of the Catholic Church to annually observe on September 1 annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Since 1989 many Eastern Orthodox Christians have observed on that same date as a Day of Prayer for the Environment.

Religions are Making the Moral Argument in Support of Climate Action

In stark contrast to the disagreements that tear us apart, the world's religions appear to have coalesced around the understanding that we need to care for creation. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and others have all made moral arguments in support of climate action.

Pope Francis has championed the battle against climate change via an Environmental Encyclical, and Muslim leaders across the world have echoed the moral call to engage with an Islamic Climate Declaration.

Here is an article that reviews some of the moral arguments:

Statement of Support for the Pope's Encyclical from the Anglican Bishop of Quebec

This statement of support for the Pope's environmental encyclical was written by the Right Reverend Dennis P Drainville, Anglican Bishop of Quebec.

My Dear Sisters and Brothers:

Today humanity is called by Pope Francis to the single largest and most critical mission ever required of life on planet Earth. That mission is to engage with the reality of Climate Change, change that is swiftly becoming Climate Crisis. Earth is “Our Common Home”, as His Holiness reminds us. This great gift was entrusted to us by our Creator. Yet we have sorely abused that trust. Only by accepting the mission of engaging with this crisis, the secular and the faithful, the rich and the poor, the rainbow of humanity working together, can we rescue, heal and renew Mother Earth, from the destruction we have wrought upon her.

Anglicans tell Eco-bishops: “Be prophetic, encourage ecological witness”

“What sort of leadership in response to global climate change would you hope to receive from a group of Anglican bishops and archbishops?”

This question garnered over 120 responses from Anglicans Communion-wide when posed early in July by the Anglican Communion Environmental Network (ACEN).

“I was surprised by the number of responses we received and by the obvious effort respondents put into their submissions. The question obviously struck a chord with many who engage in advocacy around environmental justice throughout the communion” ACEN’s secretary Canon Ken Gray said.

Archbishop of Capetown: "Climate Change is a Moral and a Justice Issue"

Fran Witt Interviews Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, the South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, and Global Climate Ambassador for the ACT Alliance.

Why did you get involved in the fight against climate change?

I engage on issues on the basis of scripture. I start from there as it is written: ‘Speak out for those who cannot speak. Speak out for the rights of all the destitute, speak out and judge righteously for the rights of the poor and needy.’

United Church of Canada Votes to Divest from Fossil Fuels

The church’s General Council voted 67% in favour of divesting from the top 200 fossil fuel companies.

The United Church of Canada voted to sell its fossil fuel assets and commit financially to transitioning to an economy based on renewable energy. The vote was held by the 42nd General Council, the United Church’s highest body, which meets triennially to determine the denomination's priorities. Climate justice, whereby the world's most vulnerable populations avoid disproportionate harms of climate chaos, stands as a clear priority for Canada's largest protestant denomination.

Pope Francis Creates Global Environmental Day of Prayer

World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation will be celebrated on 1 September to give people opportunity to reflection upon ‘the adoption of appropriate lifestyles’

Pope Francis has established an annual day of global prayer “for the Care of Creation” to boost support for the environment, the Vatican said on Monday.

Catholic Sisters Show Support for Climate Action and the Clean Power Plan

On Wednesday August 5, 2015 the Sisters of Mercy brought students to Capitol Hill to support the Clean Power Plan. Thirty students and staff from seven colleges and universities sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy met with legislators to urge support for the Clean Power Plan and other measures to address climate change.

The students, who along with the Sisters of Mercy are inspired by Pope Francis’s encyclical letter. They prepared for those meetings at a panel discussion with Catholic and other faith justice leaders on Tuesday, August 4. The panel discussion focused on faith values surrounding climate change. What emerged from the discussion was a moral call to support the Clean Power Plan and the Green Climate Fund. They also wanted to advocate on behalf of communities of color in the US.