Climate Change

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. - Psalm 73:25-26 

Being salt and light demands two things: we practice purity in the midst of a fallen world and yet we live in proximity to this fallen world. If you don't hold up both truth in tension, you invariably becomes useless and separated from the world God loves. - David Kinnaman

February 22 is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in Canada. (In the United States, January 11 is dedicated to addressing human trafficking.)

After much advocacy for its existence, members of Parliament unanimously agreed on the motion to adopt the day just last year, making this year the second annual awareness day. Awareness days provide an amplified platform and opportunity to highlight issues of great importance and concern. 

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. 

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. - Matthew 5: 14-15

In this episode, Kyle Meyaard-Schapp, vice president of the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) shares how he got involved in climate advocacy as a Christian - including the middle-school humor nickname for the lake near the town where he grew up! Kyle and Chris also talk about lament as a necessary component of hope, how to encourage folks wherever they are on their justice journeys, and taking the long view when it comes to bringing about change.

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. 

On Nov.

A month ago I returned home from the COP26 talks to a province suffering from the biggest flood of my lifetime and the second unprecedented climate-related disaster of the last seven months. It was surreal to see flooding in my hometown make international headlines due to “atmospheric rivers.” Needless to say, abstract discussions about climate change have real world consequences.

Lord, thank you for 2021.  I put my 2022 in your hands.  

As we exit 2021 we intentionally pray with gratitude for good news from this year.