Blessed Tomorrow: Heed your sacred call to lead on climate
In the story of Joseph, found in the Torah, Bible, and Quran, the youngest son of Jacob has the gift of dream interpretation and prophecy. He uses his gifts to interpret a dream for the Egyptian ruler prophesying that there will be seven years of abundance followed by seven years of scarcity. It is 2023 and we have seven years to meet the 2030 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) goals of 50% reductions in carbon pollution in order to secure a liveable planet for all. Many faith leaders and climate scientists are prophesying that these next seven years are the most important of our lives. We have all received a sacred call to lead on climate, and we all bring wisdom from our lived experiences, knowledge from education, and the power of the Divine and our religious traditions to heed that call.
I invite you to consider the gifts you bring to this work, some of which you might have never considered. Climate change impacts everything we care about and the solutions likewise require diverse perspectives and different gifts. This work needs horticulturalists and gardeners to lead us in conservation, preservation, and caring for the outdoor environment. This work needs activists to lead us in marches and political action. This work needs storytellers, animal lovers, justice workers, scientists, money-minders, child advocates, healthcare providers, artists, thinkers, doers, young, old, wealthy, poor, rural, urban and on and on. This work needs you and all that you are.
In a wonderfully inspiring episode of Let’s Talk Climate, Rev. Dr. Carmelo Santos discusses how growing up in a small, poor town in Puerto Rico with polluted air and a degree in chemistry have led him to a religious life devoted to climate justice. Listen in on this holy conversation with a chemist turned Evangelical Lutheran Church of America priest as he shares about the holiness of this work. None of us can solve this enormous problem alone but as we understand that each of our efforts are added to the work of others and God’s work, we can be confident that we can do this and that seven years is the perfect amount of time.