This last summer was my first full summer in Texas, and as many of you know it was a doozy. While we were living about 80 days of torturous 100-degree weather and sunny-sided seasonal depression, I couldn’t help but listen to all the Texans around me telling me it had never quite been this bad. The further the summer slogged on, the more climate change felt imminent, and the longer EcoFaith Dialogues goes on, the more I see climate change everywhere. And it is hard.
One of the hardest things, I think, about educating yourself on climate change is sitting in the understanding of the impacts of climate change. It often leads people into hopelessness, and what is called climate grief. Like many kinds of grief, climate grief is painful, often unseen, and can hinder a person’s day to day functioning. And there is no immunity to this grief when interacting with climate stories, even the ones we are seeing in EcoFaith Dialogues. Talking about loss, like losing communities to mining disasters, deforestation, migration, and many other topics that will come up in this series is hard, and can be overwhelming while trying to figure out what you can do. But hope is not gone.
In the Hebrew Bible the Hebrew word ‘shema’ is often used to describe God when God is ‘listening’. But when ‘shema’ is used God does more than just listen. When ‘shema’ is used in connection to God, there is an understanding that not only is there a witnessing in this action, but there is an implication that action from God is also about to take place in response to what God has heard. And I think this is the kind of listening we are called to. Not only is it important to hear these stories and witness the suffering that is occurring because of climate change, we are also called to take action due to what we have witnessed.
Josiah, Rodrigo, and Shamiso, who have spoken for EcoFaith Dialogues, have all asked us to take action, knowing that our actions in our own country and communities can make positive change for climate change around the world. So, take faith! Know that your positive actions do matter. Know that when the truth and suffering from climate change gets overwhelming, you are not alone. And know that this world is worth fighting for, grieving for, changing for, and taking action for.
“Victims of climate change are the new face of the poor, the widow and the stranger that are especially loved and cared for by God. When creation is threatened in this way, churches are called to speak out and act as an expression of their commitment to life, justice and peace.”
– The World Council of Churches
EcoFaith Dialogues is a 787-sponsored project where we interview missionaries around the world about their experience with the impacts of climate change. Click here to hear the interviews and learn more about the project.