On Sunday October 22nd, pray for youth leadership for Climate Action.
October 24 highlights a worldwide youth initiative to fight climate change and global injustice. But no one is too old in the face of this planetary crisis. What action should ‘you’ contemplate on this day? BC Lutherans need to look no further than their own backyard. No neighbourhood was exempt from the smoke of forest fires this year, and no watershed untouched by fire or flood. No one suffered more than God’s beloved creation, and the loss of livelihoods was great in small and indigenous communities. Furthermore, the sick and the disabled were greatly affected and considerable stress was placed on the health care system to handle the logistics of their evacuation.
What can we do to help mitigate the impact of such events in the future? The answer is a lot, through focused action!!! Ask yourself, what needs to be done to protect land and nature in your community? And more generally, how do we advocate for land and forest management policies that favour fire resilience, protect watersheds, enrich the soil, sustain biodiversity, and mitigate climate change? Are there groups in your community that advocate for clean water, for protecting natural or recreational areas, for developing hiking trails, for planting trees, or that support First Nations-led cultural burns practices? Has Sierra Club BC heard your voice in support of initiatives to protect old growth forests? Look around in your community on International Day of Climate Action, find plenty of small voices, young and old, joining nature in unison:
The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
Psalm 19: 1-4 (NLT)
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