Ideas for Action

We are always looking to reduce things to the simplest and easiest form. We want the main points and Cliff Notes. We want to do that one action that will give us the greatest return on investment. Maybe that is why a teacher of the law asked Jesus what the most important commandment was. Instead of hundreds of rules and regulations, if he followed this most important commandment, the scales would tip in his favor. Jesus answered that the greatest commandment is: “Love God and Love your Neighbor” (Mark 12:29-31). Simple right?

We are living through an era of ecological devastation and climate breakdown, with its immense injustices against people and places for the short-term benefit of a few. Many of us have already been directly impacted, some of us haven’t yet, but all of us will be in some way. 

It’s a lot to process. 

How do we move the needle on climate action? According to Dr. Katherine Hayhoe’s new book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, the answer starts with meaningful conversations, and requires both the love to speak out and the wisdom to understand our audience. To help believers dig deeper into what these types of conversations look like, the Climate Witness Project hosted a virtual “Climate Huddle” on January 18th, 2022. 

The third Sunday in January is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, and the Office of Social Justice (OSJ) is pleased to offer resources for your church to honor the day. Synod has encouraged Christian Reformed churches to commemorate the day’s significance (Synod 1981 and Synod 1995). OSJ would like to help churches commemorate the sanctity of human life in ways that are sensitive and mindful of the impact abortion has on society, our churches, and members of our congregations.

As the end of the year approaches, many of us long for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Our hope and advocacy efforts focus on bringing an end to the occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza that began in 1967. At that time, small groups of Jewish citizens began to settle in the West Bank and became known as “settlers.” By 2018, according to Peace Now, the Israeli settlement population grew to more than 400,000 Israelis.

Different names for Christ are abundant in scripture. “Christ” comes from the Greek and “Messiah” comes from the Hebrew, and both mean “the Anointed One.” Jesus is called the Bread of Life (1 John 2:1), the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14), the Word of God (Revelations 19:13).

This year, as we meditate on the hope, love, joy, and peace of the Advent season, we also want to take time to meditate on how Scripture names Jesus and the implications those names have for our Christian witness in the world. In Matthew 1:21-23, the apostle writes:

As you’ve probably heard, COP26, the UN Climate Conference intended for the world’s nations to take coordinated global action on the climate crisis, is happening in Scotland right now. Why is it worth our attention? I’ll get there, but first I want to start with a more basic question someone asked me recently. 

“Why is creation care a concern for you?” 

Water is one of the most common metaphors for God in the Bible and is used to convey a range of experiences: being nourished by life-giving rain; being swept along by a powerful river joining in the flow of justice, or still water reviving our souls. Just as a body of water can buoy us, refresh us, and sustain us, it can also become fearsome in a storm and overwhelm us.

More than a year ago, the Washington Post reported the acceleration of Lebanon’s “financial collapse” due to corruption, financial mismanagement, and overspending. Since then global news agencies have identified the crisis as one of the worst economic catastrophes of the modern era.

 “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.” - John 1:5