Love is what carries you, for it is always there, even in the dark, or most in the dark, but shining out at times like gold stitches in a piece of embroidery. - Hannah Coulter
More than 40 countries have criticized China at the United Nations over the ongoing atrocities against Uyghur Muslims and other religious minorities in the country's Xinjiang province. These nations have called on Beijing to "ensure full respect for the rule of law" in the region. This was the third time in the last three years that the United States and mainly European countries used the Human Rights Committee meeting to chide China over its policies on the Uyghurs. Despite the rhetoric, the United States is doing little to rescue Uyghur refugees from what the American government has officially classified as genocide. The United States admitted zero Uyghurs through its refugee admissions program in fiscal year 2021, a State Department spokesperson confirmed to The Dispatch in October.
We ask, Lord, for the hands of all those who intend harm on our Muslim neighbors to be ceased immediately. We pray for political pressure, and people across the world to speak up, and demand the freedom of your people. For your intervention, we pray.
World leaders meeting at the G20 summit in Rome this past week agreed that countries must take meaningful action to keep the world from warming by no more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, but are facing criticism for offering few concrete commitments in order to reach the target. Politicians promised to stop financing overseas coal plants, tackle methane leaks, and take greater action this decade to limit global warming. Despite these achievements, they failed to agree on a precise date for phasing out the dirtiest fossil fuel and reaching net-zero emissions. The reaction in Glasgow - the site for COP26 - was one of disappointment. "This is a welcome start, but it won't stop the climate from heating more than 1.5 degrees,” said Mohammed Nasheed, former president of Maldives who serves as the ambassador of climate vulnerable countries, referring to the Paris Agreement’s stretch goal of keeping temperatures from rising more than 1.5° Celsius from pre-industrial levels. “This isn't nearly enough,” he said.
Lord - while we thank you for progress, we know that incremental progress isn’t enough. Stopping the fire in the living room doesn’t help if the rest of the house is ablaze. We need an all-hands-on-deck approach, and we pray, Lord, for your Spirit to move in a way it certainly has before. Hear our prayer.
Canada says it will appeal against a court order to pay billions of dollars to compensate indigenous children who went through the child welfare system. In September, a top court upheld a 2016 ruling that the government underfunded First Nations services compared with those for non-Indigenous children.
It ordered $40,000 ($31,350; £23,340) payouts to each child who was in the on-reserve welfare system after 2006. The case has been a source of tension between First Nations and the government. The government has said it is not opposed to compensation, but that it had issues over the order's jurisdiction and how the money was to be divided.
For Indigenous leaders and policy makers, we pray O God. For courts to operate with wisdom and justice, we pray. And for the welfare of those who’ve for too long received inadequate care, we ask that they be fairly compensated and for this to be a lesson to us all.
The COP26 conference in Glasgow, Scotland opened on Monday, a day after the G20 economies failed to commit to a 2050 target to halt net-carbon emissions – a deadline widely cited as necessary to prevent the most extreme global warming. “Enough of brutalising biodiversity. Enough of killing ourselves with carbon. Enough of treating nature like a toilet. Enough of burning and drilling and mining our way deeper. We are digging our own graves,” he said. If COP26 fails to strike a deal between the member states to reduce and remove greenhouse gas emissions at a rate unbeknownst in human history, even well beyond the Paris Agreement of 2015, the conference at large will likely be remembered as a failure with global repercussions. On the conference’s first day, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the world’s third-biggest emitter will zero out pollution by 2070, the boldest statement of intent at the opening of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
Triune God, the brightest minds in our world tell us this is the moment. This is our moment. To save ourselves from ecosystem collapse and to have a realistic possibility for a livable future. Intervene, O Lord. Move and shake the leaders of this world to listen to your people, and your mountains, and your rivers crying out.
As Canada’s 44th Parliament gets to work, take some time to welcome your MP, thank them for their work, and encourage them to support climate action, indigenous justice, and refugee resettlement. Christians are called to be salt and light in the public sphere. Consider joining us in extending a welcoming hand to Members of Parliament, encouraging compassionate collaboration on justice issues.
Want more prayers focused on COP25? The Climate Witness Project is releasing a daily prayer prompt for each day of COP26. Follow along on all of our social media channels.
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