Pope's Environmental Encyclical Supports the Poor While Demanding Change from the Rich

As promised Pope Francis has released his long awaited encyclical which is called, "Laudato Si (Be Praised), On the Care of Our Common Home." The document is all people to support the poor. It is also an indictment of the rich who refuse to change their ways. The pope characterizes wealthy people as being the primary contributors to climate change and he calls for an end to consumers and greed to help avert an ecological disaster.

An encyclical is the highest level of teaching that a pope can issue. Francis has made it clear that he hopes his encyclical will influence those who are gathering for climate talks at the end of the year in Paris. It is hoped that the pope's message will make it more difficult for special interest groups to derail the work that needs to be done at COP21 where it is hoped we will secure a global climate agreement.

Leaked Papal Encyclical Lauds the Climate Movement and Derides Deniers

Here is a leaked preview of Pope Francis' much awaited encyclical which is due to be officially released today (Thursday June 18th) at noon. As expected the Pope has come out as one of the world's foremost environmental leaders. He praises the environmental movement, warns of the need for change and calls out climate deniers. The Pope wades into some of the finer points of the climate discussion even taking a stand on carbon trading.

As reported by The Guardian, the leaked version of the encyclical calls us to avoid "unprecedented destruction of our ecosystem. The 192 page document warns of "grave consequences for all of us," if we fail to make adjustments in the way we live our lives and change the way we consume energy.

The Arctic is the Epicentre of Climate Injustice

A working group is studying the Church of England’s recent decision to divest from thermal coal and tar sands to see how it can be instructive to the Anglican Church of Canada’s own investment policies.

The Church of England announced April 30 that it was divesting £12 million worth of investments in “heavily polluting fossil fuels” and that it won’t make any direct investments in companies where more than 10 per cent of revenues come from the extraction of thermal coal or the production of oil from tar sands.

Dorval Community Garden at St. Mark’s

On a beautiful sunny spring day an organic vegetable garden was installed at the Parish of St. Andrew and St. Mark, Dorval. The garden was made possible by a “Growth, Understanding and Ministry” (G.U.M.) grant from the Anglican Diocese of Montreal and a generous donation from Margaret Beattie, a member of the parish.

The garden is a joint project with CPE Dorval, a daycare that operates on the parish’s property. The produce grown will be donated to Dorval Community Aid (DCA), a local support organization that among other services provides emergency food aid to Dorval residents. Some produce may also go to other organizations that serve area residents in need.

Canadian Church Investors Call for a Price on Carbon

Leaders in the Anglican Church of Canada have joined counterparts from other denominations in signing a letter that urges the Canadian government to establish a basis for pricing carbon dioxide emissions.

Written on behalf of 53 religious institutional investors with combined assets of more than $2 billion, the letter is addressed to federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver and asks the Government of Canada to “establish mechanisms to set a clear, reliable and effective price for carbon emissions with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting catastrophic climate change.”

The Ven. Dr. Michael Thompson, General Secretary of the Anglican Church of Canada, signed the letter along with Bishop John H. Chapman of the Diocese of Ottawa.

The 5th Annual Interfaith Eco-Action Day

The 5th Annual Interfaith Eco-Action Day will take place this year on Monday, May 18th from 9:00 a.m. through noon. The gathering point is Parc Raymond Préfontaine (Metro Prefontaine) in Montreal, Quebec.

It is a great opportunity for your youth group or any interested parishioners to make a real difference in a neighbourhood. Last year we had close to 165 participants from a number of faiths and traditions.

These Eco-Action Events have been organized within local Montreal neighbourhoods annually for the past four years and are sponsored by the Christian Jewish Dialogue of Montreal, The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism, the Concordia Multi-faith Chaplaincy, and EcoQuartier Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

Justice Tour: Faith Climate Change and Poverty

The Justice Tour is a series of faithful gatherings of concerned Christians in cities across Canada. At these national events communities of faith will come together to pray, engage and learn about climate justice and ending poverty in Canada. The tour, is co-organized by Citizens for Public Justice and the Canadian Council of Churches.

Church of England Adopts New Climate Change and Ethical Investment Policy that Includes Divestment

On Thursday April 30th 2015, the Church of England, mother church of the world's 80 million Anglicans, adopted a new climate change and ethical investment policy. The policy stresses engagement with companies and policy makers and divestment when engagement is deemed unproductive.

The Church Commissioners and The Church of England Pensions Board indicated that it will divest £12 million ($18.42 million) from thermal coal and tar sands. Effective immediately the three national investing bodies (NIBs) which includes the £1.9 billion ($2.9 billion) CBF Church of England funds, will not make any direct investments in companies where more than 10 percent of its revenues are derived from the extraction of thermal coal or the production of oil from tar sands.

The Vatican's Climate Conference Calls for a Moral Awakening that Includes Rejecting Fossil Fuels

On April 28th, the Vatican held a major conference on climate change that called for a moral awakening. The summit addressed the need for urgent action including reductions in our consumption of fossil fuels. The conference was titled, Protect the Earth, Dignify Humanity: The Moral Dimensions of Climate Change and Sustainable Development. It was hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Science and included 60 scientists, religious leaders and diplomats.

Earth Day Sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Welch

This Earth Day sermon was written by Rev. Elizabeth Welch. She is a member of the Stewardship of the Environment Committee (Anglican Diocese of Montreal) and the parish priest at St. Andrew and St. Mark Anglican Church in Dorval.
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Why on the 3rd Sunday of Easter are we reading all about sin? It’s almost as if after the first two Sundays of Easter we’re back in Lent. One commentator wrote: “Can’t the Scriptures cut us a break for one Sunday and give us simple ‘God is great’ good news?” It’s the 3rd Sunday of Easter after all! The commentator added: “I feel the same way about the world sometimes [thinking]: can’t the world make joy a little easier?”

The question for us at this time is: How do we be an Easter people; how do we follow the risen Christ when life does not always seem touched by the resurrection?

Earth Day statement by the Primate and Bishop Johnson

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, with the Rev. Susan Johnson, National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Earth Day—observed annually on April 22nd—falls this year in the midst of the Festival of Easter in which we celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created.... He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15–17)

Connect the Blue Dots National Day of Action

On Sunday, April 19 there will be a national day of action in support of environmental rights. This includes fresh air, clean water and healthy food.  As part of the Blue Dot movement people are coming together all across the country.

So far more than 70,000 Canadians have signed up to participate in events that are planned in more than 60 communities from coast to coast (the actual turn out is expected to far exceed this number).

Big and small events will take place in living rooms and community spaces, parks and outdoor places. All of these events are intended to protect the people and places that we love.

The Blue Dot Movement Advocating for a Healthy Environment

Rather than just address individual environmental insults, the Blue Dot movement seeks to entrench a legal framework that will protect Canada's environment from coast to coast. A growing number of Canadians are demanding the right to a healthy environment. Historically Canadians have been at the forefront of environmental issues, but in recent years these issues have been ignored by Canada's federal government. 

Looking for Young People of Faith to be Moral Climate Leaders

Concerned about climate change? Connected to a spiritual or faith community? Fossil Free Faith is looking for young people of faith* to become leaders in strengthening moral and faith-based calls for climate justice and fossil fuel divestment in Canada.

Climate Justice is the defining moral issue of our time, and young people have been leading the movement to address it. As governments stall on taking action, and communities across the globe experience more and more deadly weather events, the fossil fuel divestment movement continues to pick up steam. We're calling other young people of faith to join in. Young people who want their schools and faith institutions to stop investing in companies that destroy the planet.

Anglicans Invited to Eco-Ministry in Costa Rica

Members of the Parish of Glengarry in the Diocese of Ottawa are set to embark on a journey to Costa Rica in February 2016 to learn about ecological ministry—and spots are still available for any Anglicans across Canada who wish to join them.

Clergy and parishioners—in an effort to advance the commitment to eco-justice and eco-spirituality among Christians—have partnered with Creation Matters and Greening Sacred Spaces to plan the Costa Rica trip. Their goal is to create a shared curriculum to educate church members about environmental issues.

What the Climate Movement Must Learn from Religion

Last September 40,000 people attended London’s largest ever climate march. This was a big achievement for an issue that struggles to catch people’s attention. After all, as psychologists point out, it is notoriously hard to mobilise people around issues that are invisible, uncertain, set in the future and require them to make sacrifices.

Or is it? This Easter, more than 2 million people will attend church in Britain to celebrate the Christian resurrection. They will agree to constrain their most primal drives in return for long-term rewards that are not just uncertain but fundamentally unknowable.

Climate Leadership from the Head of the Episcopal Church

Katherine Jefferts Schori is the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, she believes that those who deny the science of climate change are both "blind" and "immoral." Jefferts Schori is not only a religious authority, she also has some serious scientific credentials. She holds a doctorate in oceanography and worked as a marine biologist before becoming a priest.

At a March 24 Episcopal event in Los Angeles called The Climate Change Crisis Forum, Jefferts Schori delivered a speech in which she said, "this planet is overheating, its climate is changing, and the residents are sick, suffering, and dying."

As reported by the Huffington Post, Jefferts Schori said, “We are making war on the integrity of this planet. We were planted in this garden to care for it, literally to have dominion over its creatures. Dominion means caring for our island home.” She went on to say that humanity must make a "life and death" decision and she added that the window of opportunity to do so, "will not last long."

A Good Friday Call for Climate Justice from the Chair of the Anglican Communion Environmental Network

 

A Good Friday call for climate justice from the Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, Chair of the Anglican Communion Environmental Network.

On this Good Friday, we reflect on the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Our view of salvation has often focused on our individual souls and journey to heaven. Our responsibility to care for God’s Creation has been overlooked or ignored. We have acted as if Christ only died to save the human race. The truth of the redemption of all things in Christ, which is the message of the life-giving cross, must be reclaimed (Colossians 1:20).

Anglican Bishops: “A Call to Urgent Action for Climate Justice”

A group of 17 Anglican Bishops from all six continents have called for urgent prayer and action on the “unprecedented climate crisis”. Their Declaration The World Is Our Host: A Call to Urgent Action for Climate Justice released on Monday March 30, 2015 sets a new agenda on climate change for the 85 million-strong Anglican Communion.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz Fasts for Climate Change

Archbishop Fred Hiltz fasted for the Climate on Friday, March 6, 2015. The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada and President of the PWRDF Board of Directors, joined other faith leaders, politicians and environmentalists for the 365 Rolling Fast for the Climate that began on December 1, 2014 at the UN climate conference in Lima, Peru, and will end November 30, the first day of the climate conference in Paris, France.