The Scottish Episcopal Church is a member of the World Council of Churches, which “brings together churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 120 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 580 million Christians and including most of the world’s Orthodox churches, scores of Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, as well as many United and Independent churches. While the bulk of the WCC’s founding churches were European and North American, today most member churches are in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific. There are now 352 member churches.” What is the World Council of Churches? | World Council of Churches (oikoumene.org)
A recent meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee took place in Columbia, where later in the year the UN Biodiversity Conference will be hosted. The executive committee have brough out a statement which explains the intertwined crises of biodiversity loss and climate change: “Life on Earth and the systems needed for life to flourish are at extreme risk. The intertwined crises of climate change and biodiversity loss pose the gravest threats to the ability of humans and much of the natural world to survive and flourish on Earth, God’s unique living creation. The interplay between global warming caused by the continued burning of fossil fuels and unabated natural resource extraction and consumption is tearing apart the web of species and ecosystems that anchor all life, threatening livelihoods, health, food and water sources, as well as intensifying the impacts of natural disasters, harming the most vulnerable and increasing injustices globally.”
The statement goes on to challenge churches with a call to action:
“In the spirit of hope and action with creation, the WCC executive committee meeting in Bogota, Colombia, from 6 to 11 June 2024:
Commends
- The Government of Colombia for its efforts in combating deforestation and biodiversity loss, and for endorsing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty (FFNPT).
- The Faith for Biodiversity Coalition and the Interfaith Liaison Committee to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change for engaging faith communities including WCC member churches in efforts to realize the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement.
Calls on churches to
- Learn from Indigenous spiritualities and practices that safeguard biodiversity and climate.
- Mobilize their constituencies and communities of faith to exert pressure and build political will for deep-seated and timely climate action without further degrading the ecosystem or imperilling the most vulnerable.
- Hold governments accountable for reaching biodiversity and climate targets.
- Support the Ecocide Law, the FFNPT and the ecumenical Zacchaeus Tax Campaign linking tax justice with ecological justice.
- “Walk the talk” and take institutional actions to combat biodiversity decline and climate change through educational awareness, advocacy, liturgy and prayer (such as the Season of Creation Campaign), land regeneration, biodiversity restoration, climate-responsible financial practices, and exchange of success stories, among others.”
To read the full statement please click here.
Bethany Nelson, Empowerment Coordinator
