Today I attended a training led by GreenFaith, an environmental faith-based organization, currently based in the USA but looking to go international. In the midst of busy negotiations and meetings, around 40 people of faith took time out of their schedules to sit with each other and learn how best to move forward in the fight against climate change. The room was filled with people from all around the world, at least one person from each continent and a variety of faiths were represented. This training sought to enlighten people as to the power of their faith and what strengths faith communities have to rally behind a cause. We also had a chance to discuss in small groups what stood out and what our dreams and goals are going forward.
We as people of faith can work within a theory of change, which works through five key factors:
- Inner Transformation – when we as individuals embody principles of peace and love, those principles come out in our actions.
- Institutions can shift power and resources – as institutions, faith communities and organizations can use their money, land, and personnel to impact change. We can do things divest from companies that deal in fossil fuels or carbon trading or use our owned land to plant more trees and flora.
- Moral Leadership – we are people of values and moral codes and we should be working within those moral codes to emulate actions for others.
- Large numbers have a collective impact – Two people working together do more than they would working separately. This made me think of a saying I learned in school; “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
- Diversity and inclusion make us stronger – faith communities are unique in that they bring people together across age, gender, race, sexuality, profession, skills, and more.
When we talk about power, we are speaking of the capacity to create change in one’s life and in the world of which they are a part. This is not a power over someone, but a power with someone else. Ultimately, regardless of what strategies we use, this power comes from relationship. Faith communities are people of story telling and people of relationships, which gives them that power with other people.
These sentiments were reflected when we came together after group discussion and summarized what everyone had talked about. The key items were community diversity, pooling resources, relationships, stronger together, don’t recreate the wheel, access our community strengths, and emphasize our similarities and shared values. The faith community has so many things to offer to actions for climate justice, we just need to step up and continue working with our strengths.