Join ‘Act for Creation. Act for Justice’ call-In day for congressional climate action

Presbyterian Office of Public Witness says it’s time for ‘a bold response to climate change’

by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

LOUISVILLE — The Washington office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is encouraging the public to take part in a national day of advocacy designed to get members of Congress to take action on climate change.

Act for Creation. Act for Justice: A National Faith Call-In Day for Congressional Climate Action is Friday, Aug. 27, and is expected to culminate with hundreds of people reaching out to their members of Congress by phone or email.

“We are partnering with our ministry partners Creation Justice Ministries to call on Congress to invest in climate action and Creation justice,” said Christian Brooks, Representative for Domestic Issues for the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness. “We need a bold response to climate change that we do not have. Most of the climate-related policy was taken out of the infrastructure bill. There were some climate-related actions put in the reconciliation bill. However, it’s not enough. We are asking Congress to draft legislation that creates equitable and climate-smart investments in our communities.”

Christian Brooks

Anyone who wants to participate in the call-in day can go to Creation Justice Ministries’ website to register. Those who do so will receive a script to use when calling or emailing members of Congress; a toolkit to engage Congress members on social media; and an invitation to watch an “Act for Creation, Act for Justice Launch Event,” which takes place at noon (Eastern time) on Friday.

The call-in day comes on the heels of a major report by scientists convened by the United Nations that laid out the need for immediate steps to be taken to address global warming.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the report “a code red for humanity,” noting that “global heating is affecting every region on Earth, with many of the changes becoming irreversible,” according to CNN.

In various regions, climate change is being felt in multiple ways, including more intense rainfall and associated flooding and more intense drought, according to the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Such changes would increase with additional warming.

“Stabilizing the climate will require strong, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and reaching net zero CO2 emissions,” IPCC Working Group I Co-Chair Panmao Zhai said in a news release. “Limiting other greenhouse gases and air pollutants, especially methane, could have benefits both for health and the climate.”

Speaking at a recent Presbyterians for Earth Care conference, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of PC(USA), spoke of the need to take action to protect the planet.

“The challenges we face have a lot to do with our own sense of discipline, how we go about attempting to live the life Jesus has called us to live,” Nelson said during the conference. “We are tearing down the Creation God has given to us. We think it’s ours to do what we want to.”

Nelson also talked about the gulf between the rich and the poor and spoke against greed and exploitation. “Jesus came to remind us that what we have in this world we have to give back,” he said. “It doesn’t belong to us, including our own lives.”

The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness is one of the Compassion, Peace & Justice ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Find other ways to advocate for justice by following the Presbyterian Week of Action through Aug. 29.