by Texas Impact Executive Director Bee Moorhead
I spent the first week of May in our nation’s capitol, meeting with colleagues from around the country to advocate together for strong U.S. leadership on climate and disaster response. I was joined for part of the week by Lisa Brenskelle, coordinator of Texas Impact’s affiliate the Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston. Together we met with Texas senators and congressional representatives; participated in a press conference calling for comprehensive federal disaster funding; and heard from U.S. faith leaders about the evolving context of faith-based climate action.
One of the highlights of the week was being on Capitol Hill to witness the passage of H.R.9 by the U.S. House of Representatives, which would restore the United States to the Paris Agreement. Texas Congressman Lloyd Doggett made an eloquent speech supporting H.R.9, while Texas Congressman Mike McCaul spoke against the resolution but emphasized he is committed to advancing climate solutions. The resolution is an important statement for the U.S., and even if it does not become law ultimately, the debate over it shows how dramatically the discussion about climate change is shifting.
Rabbi Fred Dobbs and Rev. Michael Malcolm discuss climate change at the national Interfaith Power & Light meeting
The first part of the week, I attended Interfaith Power & Light’s national meeting. The second part of the week Lisa and I were at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s annual advocacy convening. At both events, the focus was on the growing understanding that climate intersects with many of the core ministries of the faith community, including hunger, immigration, health, and disaster response.
In our meetings on Capitol Hill, we shared the Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy’s report on faith-based spending on Hurricane Harvey response. We found that congressional staff were not well-informed about the breadth of faith-based disaster response, and they were very interested in learning more.
Everywhere, we talked about the need for more conversation between local community leaders–like members of local congregations–and policymakers.
On Saturday morning, I spent some time with United Methodist Women from the East District of the Central Texas Conference. We talked about how overwhelming climate change can seem–for everyday people and policymakers alike. But as we discussed issues from landscaping a new church addition to supporting water wells in developing countries, the UMWs said it’s clear that our local experience is connected to global ministries and global climate change. Telling the story of that connection will help us change the policy climate here in Texas and in Washington, D.C.