By Bishop Ann Svennugsen
Duke professor Ellen Davis shares a story about a neighbor’s conversation with his young grandson. The boy says, “Grandpa, the two biggest fears I have are that I won’t make the baseball team and that climate change will ruin my life.”
The child’s question haunts me. And challenges me. Am I doing all I can to protect my grandchildren – and all children – from the effects of climate change?
“Ten years ago, our synod made the commitment to provide our congregations with education, networking, and advocacy opportunities to promote climate justice.”
In his encyclical Laudato Se, On Care for Our Common Home, Pope Francis calls us to an “ecological conversion,” whereby the effects of our encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in our relationship with the world around us. Our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.
I was reminded of this during a recent conversation my husband and I had about our tithe commitments for 2024. Is our ecological conversion reflected in the proportion of our income God calls us to share for the sake of God’s world?
TEN YEARS AGO, our synod made the commitment to provide our congregations with education, networking, and advocacy opportunities to promote climate justice. Funded completely by external grants, we have been privileged to call leaders like Emilie Bouvier, Jack Hurbanis, Johan Baumeister, and Grace Corbin (as well as former Lutheran Volunteer Corps staff Madeline Troyer and Mariah Novell) to lead this work. Last year, we were a major voice in our state’s passage of the “100% Renewable by 2050” legislation. We are currently working on a major energy initiative for the 2024 legislative session.
Now, as my tenure comes to a conclusion, I am eager to raise sufficient money to secure our climate justice work for at least the next two years. And, for that, I rejoice that my husband and I agreed to commit a meaningful gift in our 2024 tithe to the synod’s Climate Justice work. I encourage you join us.
“Is our ecological conversion reflected in the proportion of our income God calls us to share for the sake of God’s world?”
Oh, you may already have financial commitments that reflect your “ecological conversion” and God’s call to work for climate justice. If not, I encourage you to explore doing so (and truly hope the synod’s climate justice work will be on the list of possibilities).
It’s hard to know what to say when a child you love wonders if “climate change will ruin his life.” One thing we can do is make concrete and tangible commitments of money, lifestyle, and advocacy for the sake of our children’s – and God’s creation’s – future.